


Storm Chaser//JJ Maybank

by stephie177



Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:36:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 38,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27447238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stephie177/pseuds/stephie177
Summary: Storm Miracle McKay planned on having a good time with her friends over summer break. Things don't always turn out the way Pogues plan it though. A hurricane, a wrecked boat, and a kegger change everything. The summer turns into a treasure hunt and hunt for survival.





	1. playlist

Wildflower ~ 5 Seconds of Summer

5-1-5-0 ~ Dierks Bentley

Lowlife ~ Neck Deep

Trampoline ~ SHAED ft. Zayn

Why Don't We ~ Austin Mahone

No More Sad Songs ~ Little Mix ft. Machine Gun Kelly

hot girl bummer ~ blackbear

Blinding Lights ~ The Weeknd

ROXANNE ~ Arizona Zervas

Sunflower ~ Post Malone ft. Swae Lee


	2. one

We're the Pogues, and our mission this summer is to have a good time, all the time. Today that includes drinking at a house that's being built in the rich part of town. John B is standing on the edge of the roof beer can in hand, balancing on one foot.

"That's what, a three-story fall to the deck?" Pope comments. "I give you about a one-in-three chance of survival."

"Hm." John B sticks his finger in his mouth before holding it up in the wind. "Should I do it?"

"Yeah, you should jump." Pope holds up a screw gun. "I'll shoot you on the way down.

"You'll shoot me?" John B questions as he points a finger gun at Pope. "Pow."

"Yep," Pope tells him.

Kie walks out of the house. "They're gonna have Japanese toilets with towel warmers."

"Of course," I state.

"Why wouldn't they?" JJ remarks.

"This used to be a turtle habitat, but who cares about the turtles, I guess?" Kie says.

"I can't have cold towels," JJ states. I elbow him in the ribs. "Ow."

Kie looks up at John B. "Can you please not kill yourself?"

"Don't spill that beer. I'm not giving you another one," JJ warns.

"Whoa!" John B almost falls, dropping his beer. "Oh, shit."

JJ shakes his head. "Of course you did."

"Smooth," I tease.

"A-plus," JJ states.

John B groans. "Nooo."

"Dumbass," Kie taunts.

"Hey, uh, security's here," Pope warns. He gestures with his hand. "Let's wrap it up."

"Boys are early today," JJ states.

"Humpty Dumpty, let's roll," Pope shouts.

"Let's go, boys," I tell them.

"Gary, is that you?" JJ taunts.

"Get down," Pope states.

"It's me. Gary, good to see you, man!" JJ shouts as he climbs down from the scaffolding before helping me do the same.

"Is it time?" John B asks, climbing down after us.

"You're asking for it," I tease JJ.

I can hear Gary sohuting, "JJ!"

One after the other we all run through the unfinished house towards the steps to the garage. We all laugh and shout. As we get to the bottom the security guards are already there.

"Hey, stop!" Gary shouts.

We turn and run the opposite way away from them.

"Get 'em! They're comin' your way!" Gary shouts.

One of the guards grabs JJ. "I got him!"

JJ gets away. "Not much of a hugger!"

"They're going out front!" a guard shouts.

I keep running and jump over the fence Pope and JJ on my tail.

"Go, Storm! Go! Go, go, go, go, go, go!" JJ shouts.

Pope groans as he hits the ground behind me. We can't help but laugh. 

"Get up, Pope, fatso's coming," JJ says as he hits Pope on the back.

The guard can't make it over the fence. "Hey! Come here, you little pricks!"

John B honks the horn on his van. "Bus is leaving!"

Kie shouts, "Come on, boys! Whoo!"

I jump in the back of the van followed by JJ and Pope. We all laugh.

"Hey, hey! Hey! Hey!" Gary shouts as he chases after the van.

"Check out Gary, gunnin' for a raise," Pope taunts.

"Come on, Gary!" JJ shouts.

"Wait. Slow down." JJ hangs out of the van.

"Hey!" Gary shouts.

"You're gonna give him a heart attack," I warn.

"You're so close! You can do it. There you go." JJ throws a beer at Gary. "They don't pay you enough, bro."

I pull JJ back in the van. "JJ, stop." I laugh. "Stop."

He smiles at me. "Oh, come on. That sort of initiative is just begging to be punished."

I laugh as JJ swings his arm around me. We start on the drive back home laughing and joking.

The Outer Banks, Paradise on Earth. It's the sort of place where you either have two jobs or two houses. Two tribes, one island. All right. This is Figure Eight, the rich side of the island. Home of the Kooks. So, guess where we don't live. And then, this is the south side or the cut. Home of the working class who make a living busing tables, washing yachts, running charters. The natural habitat of... drumroll, please... the Pogues. That's us. Pogues, pogies, the throwaway fish. Lowest member of the food chain. Okay. So, the downside of Pogue life is we're ignored and neglected. But the upside of Pogue life? We're ignored and neglected, which means we do whatever we want, whenever we want. We surf, party, drink, and just have a good time.

There's JJ, my best friend since kindergarten. I pushed him off the swing set and we've been inseparable since. He's about as local as they come. Latest in a long line of fishing, drinking, smuggling, vendetta-holding salt-lifers who made their living off the water. Best surfer I know. Just don't tell him I said that. Mild kleptomaniac and a future tax cheat. Who happens to be the guy I've been messing around with. We haven't put a label on it and we haven't told the crew. It's just some summer thing. Even though we have a rule about Pogues mackin' on Pogues.

The only other girl in our group is Kiara, or Kie, as we call her. When not saving turtles or listening to Marley, or getting a dolphin tattoo, she hangs out with us. I'm not really sure why, though. So, she's a rich kid, actually. Foot in both worlds. Her family owns The Wreck, this Outer Banks institution. Total cash cow with the tourists. Her parents let me pick up shifts there when they need help. I know her parents are fond of me but I'm not so sure about the boys. They all have a thing for her.

Next is Pope, the brains of the operation... finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhorst Merit Scholarship. And the smartest person I know. Wants to be a coroner so he's a little bit of a weirdo. His father's this legendary character, Heyward. Anything you wanted on the island, Heyward could get for you. Now, I'm not sure Heyward knew what to make of his oddball son, but it didn't matter. He was a Pogue, just like the rest of us.

The last member of our crew is John B. He's kind of our unofficial leader. He lives in an old fish shack on the marsh. The Château, as his dad used to call it. His dad disappeared at sea nine months ago, looking for a shipwreck. Who disappears at sea these days? His mom hasn't been around since he was three. His Uncle T is supposed to be his legal guardian but he hasn't seen him in three months. So right now it's just John B and us.

My name is Storm Miracle McKay. My Mom named me Storm because I was born in the middle of a hurricane. My dad picked my middle name because he thought it was a miracle that I was even alive. Miracles aren't for everyone though. My dad died when I was five. He had a heart attack at work and never came home again. My mom works two jobs just to get by. One for the house and our bills the other so she can spend all her free time at the bar getting drunk. I rarely see my mother, but when I do she's mean and nasty. She's taken to hitting me and insulting me any chance she gets. I spend most of my time at John B's and whenever I'm at home she normally isn't.


	3. two

I can hear the hurricane warning alarms outside. Hurricane Agatha is headed right for the island. JJ and I spend the night at John B's.

I snuggle closer to JJ as I hear someone walking around. "Now Power. Great," Its John B. He slaps JJ on the back. "Yo, JJ, you been outside?"

I groan as I put a pillow over my head.

"I have polio, bro. I can't walk," JJ tells him.

I open my eyes as John B walks out the back door. I nudge JJ and he groans. "Come on. Get up."

"No," JJ whines.

I hit him with the pillow. "Come on."

JJ sits up and pulls me on top of him. I giggle as he pulls me in for a kiss. I pull away and get up from the pull out couch. JJ grabs my hand. "Come back to bed."

I shake my head as I walk towards the fridge. "It's time to get up." I pull out a beer and toss it to JJ.

He catches it with a smile. "Thanks."

We stand out on the back steps. The hurricane really did a number on the island. There are fallen trees around the backyard and more than one boat.

"Agatha did some work, huh?" I remark.

"Yeah, she did," John B states. He is pulling tree branches out of the boat.

Thunder rumbles as John B hops into the boat. JJ and I walk over towards him.

"What you thinkin'?" JJ asks.

"I'm thinkin' that storm surge pushed all the crabs out on the marsh maze. All those drum are gonna chase the crab," John B tells us.

"What about the DCS? Wasn't that today?" I ask.

John B shakes his head. "Nah, they're not gettin' on a ferry." I give him a look. "Come on, think about it. It's God tellin' us to fish."

John B, JJ, and I get the boat back into the marsh. We pile in ready to pick up the others for the day.

"It's kind of a smuggler's boat," John B says.

I wave as we pass a man on his boat. "Good mornin'!"

"Sure hope Guffy's boat didn't sink. He doesn't have insurance," JJ states.

John B nods. "Yeah." He waves to a woman and her husband on the dock. "Hi, Miss Amy! You guys get through it?"

Amy smiles. "Still here."

"She totally looked at me," JJ states.

"I saw it," John B states.

I give JJ a look. He throws his arm around my shoulders.

The boat pulls around the dock and I can see the destruction Agatha caused. Boats are overturned and in all kinds of places. Docks are partially destroyed.

"Dude, look at this place," I state.

"Agatha, what did you do?" JJ questions.

"She is a crazy lady," John B remarks.

"Hard-core, dude. Hurricane surge," JJ states.

John B nods. "Yeah."

"We'll be cleaning this all summer," I offer.

"That is my nightmare," John B states.

I smile as we drift in front of Pope on the dock outfront of his father's place. "Well, look who we have here."

JJ whoops.

John B mimics speaking into a radio. "We have a safety meeting. Attendance mandatory." He mimics static. 

"I can't. My pop's got me on lockdown," Pope tells us.

"Come on, man." JJ mimics static. "Your dad's a pussy. Over."

His dad walks towards us. "Oh, I heard that, you little bastard."

"We need your son," I tell him.

"Yeah, and island rules. Day after a hurricane's a free day," JJ argues.

Heyward gives him a look. "Who made that up?"

"Uh... Pentagon, I think. We have security clearance. I have a card," JJ says.

"Think I'm stupid?" Heyward questions.

"I'll do it tomorrow. I promise. Tomorrow," Pope tells his dad.

"You think. No, no. Hell no. You doin' it right now," Heyward tells him.

"Get in the boat," John B whispers.

"Make a run for it," JJ whispers.

"Boy, if you get in that boat," Heyward starts.

Pope hops into the boat ignoring his dad's warnings.

"How does that feel?" JJ asks.

"Go, go, go," Pope tells John B.

"Bring your ass back up here," Heyward demands.

"I promise I'll do it tomorrow, Dad," Pope assures.

"Whoo!" JJ shouts while swinging a rope.

"You gonna clean shrimp, clean fish," Heyward says.

"Love you, Pops," John B tells him.

"You'll clean your dirty-ass room!" Heyward shouts.

"We'll bring him back in one piece. I promise!" I yell.

"And I don't like your friends!" Heyward shouts.

We head off towards Kie's house. She's at the end of the dock waiting for us with a cooler in hand.

"Oh, top o' the mornin' to ya," JJ greets.

"Good morning," Kie says.

"Morning," John B replies.

"Whatcha got?" I ask.

"You got some juice boxes?" Pope questions.

"You know, just some yogurts and carrot sticks," Kie teases.

JJ helps her into the moving boat. "How about my kind of juice box?"

"Yeah," Kie says.

"Brace for impact," John B jokes.

Kie puts down the cooler and pulls out beers. I cheers mine with JJ. "Salud."

"Skoal," JJ says.

WE take the boat out into the marsh.

"Bet you can't do this," JJ says. We all laugh. "Tell the world. A party trick." I shake my head as he steps up onto the bow. "Hey, Pope. Can you go a little faster?"

"Here we go. I'm movin'," John B says as he moves behind Pope.

"Doesn't work. We've tried this like 6,000 times," I remind JJ.

"I got this. It's gonna work!" JJ shouts. He holds the beer bottle up to his mouth trying to get the wind to take it there.

"Oh, my God. You're getting beer in my hair!" Kie shouts.

"All right. All right!" Pope shouts.

"All right, you're done," John B states.

I laugh. "All right, stop."

Suddenly the engine rattles and everyone goes flying. JJ lands in the water, while Kie lands next to me and John B lands on top of me.

I groan. "Ow."

"Jesus, Pope!" Kie shouts.

"You okay, JJ?" I ask.

JJ is floating on his back. "I think my heels touched the back of my head."

"Kie you okay," John B asks.

Kie moans. "I'm all right."

"Pope, what did you do?" JJ asks.

Pope groans. "Sandbar. The channel changed."

"No shit," JJ says as he swims back towards the boat.

"Ugh, this is probably gonna mess this whole place up," John B states.

"Hey, I saved the beer, though," JJ tells us.

I step up on the bow to help him back in the boat.

"Congrats, JJ," John B remarks.

"Guys... I think there's a boat down there," I state. I look out into the water and it looks like a boat is submerged below JJ.

"Shut up. What?" John B asks. 

"No way," Kie says.

"No, no, guys. I'm serious." I point to the water. "There's a boat down there. For real."

"Guys... is this..." John B starts.

"It's a boat!" I shout.

Kie, Pope, and John B look out into the water.

"Holy shit, she's right. Let's go," Kie advises.

"You think there's a dead body down there?" Pope asks.

John B takes his shirt off and hops into the water with JJ. They both swim towards the boat. Kie and I follow after them.

"Guys, wait up!" Pope shouts.

"Get your ass in here!" JJ shouts.

"Come on!" John B yells.

We all swim down towards where the boat is. We don't stay down for long any touching it before swimming back up to the surface.

"You guys saw that right?" I ask.

"Yeah," JJ states.

"Yeah, I did," John B tells me. "What the..."

JJ laughs. "That's a Grady-White. A new one of those is like 15000 Gs, easy."

We all swim back to the boat and climb in. "Okay! That's a primo rig," I state.

"Yeah. That's the boat I saw when I surfed the surge. Maybe it hit the jetty or something," John B tells us.

"You surfed the surge?" Kie asks.

John B nods. "Yeah."

JJ laughs. "That's my boy. Pogue style." He high fives John B.

"What the heck?" Kie asks.

"Wait, wait. Do we know whose boat that is?" Pope asks.

"No, but we're about to find out," John B tells him.

"Dude, it's too deep," I warn him.

John B starts to dig for the anchor. "Oh, for the weak and feeble, Storm."

I give him a look. "Well, I'm not resuscitating you. I'm just making that clear up front."

"That's fine," John B tells me. He picks up the anchor.

"John B," Kie says.

He chuckles. "What?"

Pope salutes him. "Diver down, fool."

John B salutes back. "Diver down."

"Yeah, he is," JJ says before pushing John B off the boat.

After a moment John B still isn't at the surface. "Should we go get him?" Pope asks.

Just then John B resurfaces, coughing and whipping water out of his eyes.

"Oh, my God. That took forever!" Kie shouts.

"Any dead bodies?" Pope asks.

"Looting potential?" I ask.

John B shakes his head. "No. No." He holds up a key. "I found this motel key."

"A key," Pope states.

"Yes, a key, Pope," John B states.

"Great! We salvaged a motel key," JJ remarks.

John B pulls himself into the boat and we take off.

"Guys, we should report the wreck to the coast guard," Kie states.

"Maybe we'll get a finder's fee," I offer.

"Yeah, and not work all summer. Thanks, Agatha, ya batch," JJ remarks.


	4. three

We head to tell the Coast Guard about the boat. When we get there it's a zoo. People are all over the place trying to sort things out after the storm. We head inside and try to talk to someone.

"Excuse me. Hey, man, we-- we found a boat. You're gonna wanna hear this," I tell the guy.

"Hey! Calm down," he shouts at me. 

I grab JJ and we head out to everyone else. "Well, that went well."

"So, what's the plan?" Pope asks.

John B holds up the key. "I know how we're gonna find the guy who owns that boat."

"We don't know whose room that is. It could be anyone," Pope argues.

JJ takes the key from John B and throws it to Kie. "I'm in."

Kie catches the key. "Come on. We'll be lookout."

I smile at Pope. "Finder's fee. Just sayin'." 

"And, hey, at least you'll only be an accomplice," John B offers.

"Man," Poe says as he follows after us.

"Come on, bubba," John B teases.

We take the boat to the motel the key belongs to.

JJ whistles. "I thought the Château looked bad."

"This place is a shitshow," I state.

"Motel or meth lab?" Kie jokes.

"You be the judge," Pope adds.

"Doesn't look like a place somebody with a Grady-White would stay," John B states.

"No. Looks like a place someone with a Grady-White would get killed," Pope counters.

"All right. Here we go," John B says as we pull towards the shore.

"This is your captain speaking. HMS Pogue comin' in for landing." JJ jumps off the bow. "Whoo!" He ties the boat up.

"We good?" John B asks.

"Yeah, we good," JJ replies.

"All right. Here goes nothin'," I say.

Pope stops me. "Hey."

I turn to face him. "Yeah?"

Pope points at JJ. "Don't let him do anything stupid."

"Oh, we will," JJ assures.

"I'm not making promises," I state.

"Yeah, I know," Pope says.

"Uh, be careful." Kie hands John B the motel key. " I mean it."

John B chuckles. "Yeah."

John jumps off the boat and hits JJ on the shoulder. "Let's go."

We start towards the motel.

"Why are all these mattresses out?" John B asks.

"After a hurricane, they ditch 'em 'cause they're moldy," I explain.

We walk up to the second floor looking for the room.

JJ puts his hands on John B's shoulders. "Just be so careful, John."

John B pushes JJ off of him. "God, you're so weird."

"What the heck was that about?" I ask.

"I don't know. Maybe she wants us to be careful," John B offers.

"Since she heard you're being threatened with exile, she's just been, like," JJ starts massaging John B's shoulders, "'Oh! Be so careful, John B.'"

John B swats him away. "Get off."

"'Oh, give me that John D already.' When are you gonna swoop on that, man?" JJ asks.

"Bro, you know the rule. No Pogue-on-Pogue macking," John B states. "You're the one that was always hitting on her."

"She's a super-hot, rich, hippie chick slumming with us. Why? I can't figure it out either, but who cares?" I remark.

"I know that door's locked because I've tried it. Have you?" JJ asks.

"You need help," John B states. "Not a little help, you need a lot of help. It's like every girl who just has a heartbeat, you're like... 'Uhh!'"

"What? It's not a big deal," JJ states. I give him a look and he smiles sheepishly.

"Is that us?" I ask.

"Twenty-nine. This is it," John B states.

"Okay." I knock on the door. "Housekeeping." 

No one opens the door. JJ knocks on the window.

"Should we try it?" John B asks.

I nod. "Yeah."

"No power. No security cameras. No one's gonna know," JJ offers.

JJ walks in first followed by John B and I. I look around. "Okay." There is a duffle bag on the bed.

John B closes the door. "Check the bag. See if there's a name on there somewhere."

JJ goes through another bag. "A jacket."

"Denim slides," John B says.

"No name on the jacket," I state.

"It's a nice jacket, though," JJ remarks.

"Definitely over 50," John B remarks. "He's got New Balances."

I find a map on the side table. "Yo, dude, come here. Maybe this is where they were fishing."

John B looks over my shoulder. "Let me see."

I point at the map. "Right there."

"No, that's off the continental shelf. That's Big Swell. Nobody fishes there," John B tells me.

"Okay," I say.

We look around the room.

"Coffee? Standard. Tissues for when you get lonely..." JJ says. He wanders into the bathroom. "Ooh!"

"Did you find anything?" I ask.

"A really awesome Dopp kit you won't let me steal," JJ tells me.

"Yeah, 'cause we're not stealing shit," I remind him.

John B finds a safe in one of the cabinets. "One, one, one." The safe beeps. "One, one, one, two." The safe beeps again.

"Punching shit at random. That will... definitely work," JJ remarks.

John B sighs. "Wait a second. Here." He picks up a piece of paper from the side table.

JJ looks at the map. "I don't know. I don't know about the second one. These coordinates, they... Wait. My cousin said you could catch swordfish here."

"Six, one, six, six, six," John B goes back to the safe.

"Nah, that wouldn't make any sense," I tell JJ.

"What about a surf spot?" JJ offers.

"That could possibly be it," I state. "Or shoals"

"Is this a surf spot? Have you heard of shoals?" JJ asks John B.

"Uh... JJ? Storm?" John B says.

"Hm?" JJ asks.

"You're gonna want to see this," John B states. He holds up a stack of cash.

"Dude, dude, dude!" JJ says as he takes a gun out of the safe.

I look at him wide eyed. "You grabbed the gun."

"This is a SIG Sauer," JJ states.

I walk towards him. "Put the gun back, JJ!"

"This is a fucking spendy gatt, man. Just... Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!" JJ says as he points the gun around the room.

"Hey, think about it!" John B tells him.

"We are not stealing anything," I tell JJ.

"Just take a pic of me. Right here," JJ says.

I give him a look. "You want me to take a picture of you?"

JJ nods. "Yeah, dude, like..."

"Make our own incriminating evidence? Is that what you're talking about?" John B questions.

I hear something hit the window. "Wait, what was that?"

John B looks out the window. "Shit."

"What is it?" JJ asks.

John B looks out the front window. "Cops."

We rush to put the room back the way we found it.

"Kildare County Sheriff's Department!" 

We rush out the window. We stand with our bodies pressed against the outside of the building on a little awning below the window. JJ is practically on top of me.

"What are you guys doing?" Pope mouths.

Kie puts her head in her hands.

The cops start to go through the safe.

"What the fuck," I whisper.

"Do you believe..." JJ starts before dropping the gun. It slides off the awning and hits a garbage can.

The cop opens the blinds but cant see us thank god. "All right. Let's go."

After the cops leave we climb down from the awning. We get back in the boat and take off.

JJ laughs. "Well, that was fun."

"Could have warned us sooner," I offer.

"We would have, except Pope was on the math team," Kie tells me.

"You were on the math team?" JJ asks.

"The cops took everything like it was a crime scene. Did you guys find anything?" Pope asks.

"Did we find anything? No, I don't think so." JJ pulls out the gun and a stack of cash. "Oh, yeah, we did."

"What the hell?" Pope asks.

"Dude, what?" Kie says.

"Dude, chill. Come on," JJ says as he walks towards Pope.

"Why take that from a crime scene?" Pope asks.

"Better than cops having it," JJ states.

"You serious?" Kie asks John B.

"I'm gonna lose my merit scholarship," Pope states.

"Hey, hey, hey. Sh, sh, sh. sh, sh. At least you have us, right?" JJ offers.

"I'm living the nightmare," Pope states as he sits down.


	5. four

When we head back into town there is a dead body on a gurney being wheeled off by emts.

"Who's that?" John B asks.

"It's Scooter Grubbs. He was out during the storm," a girl tells us. She pulls out her phone. "Check out this pic I got. Dead body. Insane."

"Holy shit," I say.

"What kind of boat did he have?" JJ asks.

"Somehow, that dirtbag copped a brand-new Grady-White. Everyone's out looking for it," the girl tells us.

We head back to John B's. Pope comes rushing into the back porch. "Okay. So, um... we didn't see anything. We don't know anything. We need to have total and complete amnesia."

"Actually, Pope's right for once. See, I agree with you sometimes." JJ stands up and walks towards John B. "Deny, deny, deny."

"Guys, we can't keep that money," Kie says.

"Okay. Not all of us can afford unlimited data plans, Kiara," I tell her.

"We have to pass that off to Lana Grubbs. Otherwise, it's bad karma," Kie warns.

"Bad karma to be implicated in a felony, too. We gotta go dark," Pope offers.

"If that means we get to keep the money, then I agree," JJ states.

John B puts his hand on JJ's shoulder. "I don't agree."

"What? Why?" JJ asks.

"Just think about it. This is Scooter Grubbs we're talking about. Same dude that's buying individual cigarettes at the Porthole. Shit, one time I saw this dude begging for change in the Save-A-Lot parking lot because he needed gas. We're talking about a dirtbag marina rat who's never had more than 40 bucks in his pocket, and all of a sudden, he's got a Grady-White?" John B throws his hands up. "Just sayin'." 

We sit out on the dock. Pope and JJ are fishing.

"All right, so think about it, Pope. How does a marina rat get a Grady-White?" John B asks.

Pope inhales sharply. "Prostitution."

"Square groupers, bro. Okay, flying under the radar, no aerial surveillance. They don't do that stuff during a hurricane. What does that mean? JJ?" John B asks.

"They were straight smugglin'," JJ states.

"Smugglin'. And I guarantee there's a serious amount of contraband in that wreck," John B states.

"Hell, yeah. Fish on!" JJ shouts.

We sit in John B's room trying to convince Pope to go back to the wreck.

"For the record, if that is a smuggling ship with illegal contraband on the inside of it ...it probably belongs to someone else," Pope states.

I shake my head. "Minor details."

Pope gestures with the stack of cash. "They could come looking for it. Taking it would be catastrophically stupid."

JJ takes the money from him. "Right. Well, stupid things have good outcomes all the time. All we need to do is figure out a way to get into the cargo hold of that wreck. Until then, we just lay low. Just act normal."

Pope sighs. "Right. And how exactly do we do that?"

"Kegger?" Kie offers.

We set up the keg on the beach in the boneyard. Red cups ready for a party. JJ squirts John B in the face with beer and we all laugh. We start the party and just wait for people to show up.

You can't understand the Outer Banks without understanding the boneyard. It's kinda like a three-layer burrito. There's us and our friends, the working-class derelicts from the cut. Then, there are the Kooks, the rich second-homers. They're mostly from poncey-ass boarding schools, just rich trustafarian posers. Our natural enemies. And then, there are the Tourons. Totally clueless. Here for a week on vacation with their families. Chum for the sharks.

We drink and have fun. JJ and I have a drinking contest that I easily win. I watch Pope try to chat up a girl, but Pope being Pope it doesn't go so well.

"What is she doing here?" Kie asks.

On top of a washed up buoy is Sarah Cameron. Kook princess. Kiara's best friend in the ninth grade, worst enemy in the tenth grade. John B works on her dad's boats. The boy that's helping her down is Topper, her not so pleasant boyfriend. He actually thinks Pogues were bred to mow lawns.

We party well into the night. JJ walks over to John B and I beer in hand. "I got this for you. Want it?

"For me? Yeah, I'll take a sip," John B replies.

"Oh, wait. Hey, hey. Hey, Sarah!" JJ shouts. "Sarah, can I interest you in a tasty Milwaukee beverage?"

"No, thanks," Sarah states.

"Is it not fancy enough for you?" JJ asks.

"No. We were just leaving," Sarah says.

Topper steps in. "Hey, you know what? I'll take it. I'll-- Thank you, man. I appreciate it."

"That's nice, but I didn't ask you. If you said pretty please, maybe, but you didn't," JJ taunts.

"Oh, pretty please," Topper says.

"Yeah. Sarah," JJ starts.

"Pretty please?" Topper asks.

"You can have it," JJ says, trying to hand the beer to her.

Topper smacks the beer from JJ's hand. "She doesn't want it, you.."

JJ lunges for Topper. Sarah tries to grab Topper and John B tries to grab JJ.

"No, no, no, no," John B says.

"You're so funny, man," JJ taunts.

Pope shows up. "Hey."

"Dirty Pogues!" Topper shouts.

John B pushes him back.

"John B!" I shout. JJ holds me back. "We're supposed to be incognito, remember?"

Sarah tries to talk to Topper, "Babe, babe, babe, babe..."

Topper punches John B and he hits the ground. He kicks him while he's down. "Hey, John B, don't make me drown you like your old man, all right?" He kicks him again.

Everyone starts to shout. "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

John B stands up and tackles Topper into the surf.

"John B, let it go!" Pope shouts.

"Stop, you guys!" Kiara shouts.

"Come on!" I yell.

"Topper! Stop!" Sarah yells.

John B and Topper keep fighting in the surf. Hitting each other as they stumble back onto the sand.

"Come on, John B!" Pope shouts.

John B punches Topper in the face.

"That's what I'm talkin' about!" JJ shouts.

"Come on!" John B shouts.

"Yeah, you wanna go?" Topper taunts. He pushes John B.

"Stop! John B!" Kie yells.

Topper and John B keep going at it. John B throws Topper into the surf.

"Come on Topper!" John B shouts. "Lets go!"

Topper stumbles to his feet. Him and John B throw punches at each other.

"Come on, man!" Topper taunts

John B lunges for Topper and Topper pins him face first down in the surf.

"Topper, stop! No!" Sarah shouts.

I turn to JJ. "He's drowning him."

Topper still has John B under the water. JJ walks up behind him and puts the stolen gun to Topper's head.

"Yeah, you know what that is. Your move, broski," JJ taunts.

"JJ!" I shout.

"Chill!" Pope yells.

"Put the gun down," Sarah instrutcs.

"Did you say somethin', princess?" JJ asks.

"We're good. We're good" Topper says.

"Put the gun down!" I shout

"All right? Come on, man!" Topper shouts.

Sarah turns to us. "Kie! Can you check your psycho friend, please?"

JJ lets Topper go and turns back to the beach. "Okay, everyone, listen up! Get the hell off our side of the island!" He shoots the gun off into the air.

Everyone yells and runs away.

"Are you crazy? You idiot!" I shout as I push him.

"Why do that?" Pope asks.

"I'm saving his life, okay?" JJ says.

"Stupid! You're gonna jeopardize everything!" Pope shuts.

Everyone leaves JJ and I on the beach. I shake my head. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Or trying to kill someone else?"

"I wasn't going to kill him," JJ states.

"And what would have happened if your fingers slipped? If one of Topper's friends tried to tackle you? Someone could have died," I tell him.

JJ looks at me. "I know."

"I get that you were saving John B," I sigh, "But please don't point that gun at anyone else."

"Just for you I won't," JJ tells me. I give him a look. "So does this mean I can't spend that night at your place?" He gives me puppy dog eyes.

"Fine but you're sleeping on the couch," I tell him.

JJ smiles as he wraps his arm around my waist. "Well see about that."


	6. five

The next morning we all sit in John B's backyard. Kie is playing the bongos while JJ throws rocks.

John B storms out the back door. "Look, I'm callin' it off. All right? Peterkin said, if I stay out of the marsh, she'll help me with DCS."

"And you believed her?" JJ asks.

"Yes, I believe her, JJ," John B replies.

"An actual cop, John B. You believed a cop," JJ states.

"All I gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple days, and she'll help me out. It doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting a gun," John B argues.

"You know what I should have done? Just let Topper drown your ass," JJ says.

"Topper was gonna drown me?" John B questions.

"Sure looked like it," JJ tells him.

"Thats really funny," John B

"Have you looked in the mirror recently?"JJ remarks. John B has a nasty shinner from Topper.

"Tell me some more. Come on," John B taunts.

"They always win, don't they, man? Kooks versus Pogues. They always, always win! Goddamn!" JJ shouts as he punches a hanging buoy.

"Look, it's okay!" I tell him.

JJ turns back to face me. "No, it's not okay! It is not! They don't want us to go down into the marsh. That means there's something valuable down there, man," JJ points to John B, "and you know it. I know you do. And I understand why you don't wanna go." JJ looks at Pope. "You're the golden boy. You got way too much to risk." He looks at Kie. "And you... I mean, you're already rich as fuck anyway. Why would you bother?" JJ looks at John B and I. "But you and me and Storm, man, we got nothin' to lose! We really don't, all right?"

John B looks away. "JJ."

"And I know it didn't use to be that way for you," JJ says.

"I don't want to talk about this. I don't want to talk about it," John B states.

"So that's it?" JJ asks.

John B pushes past him. "Just get out of my way, bro."

"John B, listen to me. I have a plan." JJ walks over to John B. "You got the key to Cameron's big boat, right?"

John B sighs. "No."

"There's scuba gear. We borrow that, and then we go down to the wreck this afternoon, and that is what's gonna save you, man. You don't see rich kids going into foster care, do you?" JJ argues.

John B gets the tanks and we head out into the marsh. 

Kiara inspects the tanks. "This is empty. You took empty tanks?"

"I..." John B starts.

Kie checks the other one. "Okay, this one's a quarter full. It's enough for one of us."

"Love it when a plan comes together," Pope remarks.

"Does anybody know how to dive?" Kie asks. We all look around at each other. "Anybody?"

"It's kind of a Kook sport," I state.

Pope sighs. "I... read about it."

"Great, Pope read about it, so someone's gonna die," Kie remarks.

"Look, y-you put the thing in your mouth and breathe. How hard could it be?" JJ asks.

"If you come up too fast, nitrogen gets into your blood, and you get the bends," Pope explains.

JJ arches his back. "Bends like, bend over and..."

Pope cuts him off, "The bends kill you."

JJ stands up straight. "Right."

"I can-- I can dive," John B offers.

"You can dive. I'm cool with that," JJ remarks.

"Since when can you dive?" Kie asks.

"I'll do it. It's fine," John B assures.

"Let me do some calculations real quick," Pope says.

Kie looks at John B. "You serious?"

Pope picks up a pencil and starts to write. "That boat's about 30 feet down. So it'll take 25 minutes at that depth. Which means you need to make your safety stop at about... ten feet. All right? For two minutes."

John B nods. "Yeah, yeah. Ten feet, two minutes. Got it."

Kie jumps off the bow without warning.

"What was that all about?" I ask.

"I don't know, but I liked it. A lot," JJ states.

I clear my throat. "Uh, so..."

"All righty," Pope says.

"Yeah. Uh, when you... uh, when you're down there, you look for the cargo hold." JJ holds up a key. "You stick this thing inside and twist and pull, okay?"

"Stick in, twist, pull," JJ says.

"Yeah. My dad moved weight back in the day," JJ explains.

"Who didn't?" I offer.

Kie swims back towards the boat. "Hey! I tied my T-shirt to the anchor chain about ten feet down. It's where you need to do your safety stop."

"Cool," John B states.

Pope holds up the air gage. "Keep an eye on this. You need to make sure you have enough air to decompress."

"Okay, how much do I need?" John B asks.

"Unclear. Breathe as little as possible," Pope warns.

"Zen. Think Zen, you know?" JJ imitates breathing through a mask.

"Yeah. Got it," John B states.

"Hey, if we get caught in the marsh, we're basically screwed, so... better get a move on," I advise.

"Copy that," John B says. Kie kisses him on the check. "Diver down?"

"Diver down," Kie repeats.

John B puts the mask on and jumps into the water.

Pope sighs. "Diver down."

John B starts to descend.

"See ya, dude," JJ remarks.

I can hear a siren coming towards us. "Shit. JJ."

"Guys, that's the police," JJ states.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Pope remarks.

"Yep, that's the police," JJ says.

"Just act frickin' normal," Kiara advises.

The siren blares.

"Evening, officers," Pope greets.

"Evening. Here," he throws a rope to Pope.

"JJ, tie it off," Pope instructs.

"How you kids doing? You know the marsh is closed?" Deputy Shoupe asks.

I shake my head. "No. Wow. I didn't know that."

"Why is it closed?" Pope asks.

"Well, we're conducting a search out here. Boat went down. Seen anything?" Deputy Shoupe asks.

"No," I say.

"No. No boats. No," JJ replies.

"Where's your friend you always hang with? He here?" Deputy Shoupe asks.

"He's working," Kie tells him.

Deputy Shoupe nods. "Hm. I'm gonna check your little boat out." He steps into the boat.

"Yeah," JJ says.

"Yeah, hop aboard.You wanna check... uh, check her out," Pope says.

"Thank you." Deputy Shoupe says. He holds up a life vest. "Uh... you got another one?"

I nod. "Yeah."

"Yeah, yeah," Pope says.

"Of course. It's, uh... it's in the hold," JJ states.

"Show him," Kie instructs.

"Okay." JJ picks up the life vest from the hold. "Yeah, here we go."

Deputy Shoupe nods. "All right."

"Yeah." JJ puts the life vest back and latches the hold. 

Deputy Shoupe starts to get back on his boat.

"Be careful. You don't wanna slip," Pope warns.

Deputy Shoupe stands over the bow and looks out into the water. I look at Kie concerned. John B should be coming up soon.

Deputy Shoupe turns back to us. "All right."

"All right," I repeat.

"Beautiful day," Deputy Shoupe states.

JJ nods. "Sure is."

"Very beautiful," Pope agrees.

"You let us know if you see anything on your way out," Deputy Shoupe tells us.

I nod. "Will do."

"We'll be gone soon, sir," JJ assures.

Deputy Shoupe starts his boat's engine. "Yes, you will."

As the police boat pulls away we rush to the bow of our own boat. I still can't see John B.

"He's definitely out of air," Pope states.

Suddenly John B surfaces.

"There he is!" JJ shouts.

"Oh, God! Jesus Christ!" Pope says.

Kie laughs.

"Don't scare us like that!" I tell him.

"How'd it go down there?" JJ asks. John B mutters something I can't understand. JJ meets him at the side of the boat. "Did you find anything?"

John B smiles. "Did I find anything?" He throws a black bag up onto the boat.

JJ chuckles. "Yeah, there we go! That's my boy!"

"Jeez, dude!" Pope says.

"You okay?" Kie asks.

John B is panting hard. "Yeah, I ran out of air." He climbs back up onto the boat.

"You scared the shit out of me," Kie tells him.

"Yeah, the cops were up here, but, uh... took care of 'em," Pope assures.

"My bad," John B says as he sits down.

"You're all good," Pope states.

"Yeah, you kinda missed the show, dude," I tell John B.

"Hey, guys? Guys, bogey, two o'clock," Kiara tells us.

JJ turns around. "What?"

"Do you recognize that boat?" Pope asks.

I shake my head. "I've never seen it."

"What are they doing back here? The marsh is closed," Kie states.

"I don't know. Let's not stick around and find out," JJ advises.

"JJ, get the bowline," John B instructs.

"Yeah," JJ says as he reaches for the rope.

"Should we wait on 'em?" Pope asks.

"No, we're not gonna wait on em. Go get the stern. Go!" John B instructs.

"Are you joking?" Kie asks.

"JJ, hurry up," I tell him.

"Guys, don't wait for me. Go," JJ says.

"Pull out the stern," Pope says.

John B starts the engine. "I don't like this."

"Are they coming for us?" JJ asks.

"Maybe they're fishing," Pope offers.

"Go, go, go, go!" I shout.

"Go into the marsh," Pope instructs.

"Let's go!" Kie shouts.

"I'm going. Act natural," John B tells us.

"Hey, guys, they're following us," Kie warns.

"This can't be good," Pope states.

"Shit," John B mutters.

"Dude, you gotta go faster!" JJ states.

"I'm going!" John B yells.

"Gun it!" I shout.

Suddenly a bullet wizzes by us. JJ pulls me down as everyone hits the deck.

"What the..." Pope trails off.

"Holy shit!" Kie shouts.

"John B, get down!" I shout at him.

Another host is fired.

"We're gonna die!" Pope shouts.

Kie stands up. "Shit! Pope, move."

Another shot is fired.

"Get down, Kie!" John B yells.

Kie throws a net into the water behind the boat. THe other boat runs it over and their engine stalls. The fire more shots as we get away.

"Oh, my God! Whoo!" Kie shouts.

"Booyeah! Pogue god, man!" JJ yells. "See you, guys!"

"That was insane!" I shout.

We get back to John B's. We stop at the top of the dock as John B starts to go through the bag he found.

"What do you guys think it is?" Kie asks.

"Gotta be money, or something right?" John B offers.

"That or a couple of keys with street value to the low- to mid-mils!" JJ offers.

"Can we please just open the bag?" Pope says.

"Wow, Pope. That's a rare outburst of emotion from you," John B remarks.

"Okay. You guys are literally killing me with anticipation. Open the bag," Pope says.

I laugh. "Jeez."

"We almost died over this," Pope reminds us.

John B pulls a canister out of the bag. He opens it and pulls out a compass, he just stares at it.

"Oh, wow. Yup. That's about right. Good job, everybody. We found a compass," Pope remarks.

"Dude, what? It's not worth anything," JJ states.

"This was my father's," John B tells us.


	7. six

JJ slams his fist hard on John B's front door. "DCS! I know you're in there!" He waits a moment before jumping in front of the window and slamming on it.

John B looks terrified. "Whoa!"

JJ laughs. "Gotcha, slick." He laughs even harder. "You should have seen your face. Your face was like..."

We get in John B's van heading to talk to Ms. Lana, Scooter's wife.

"I'm just saying, I don't understand why you don't at least try with Kiara. She clearly likes you. She's like," JJ makes his voice more high pitched, "'Oh, John B.'"

"Is that what she does?" John B asks.

"She's sketching about you diving, then she kissed you, bro," JJ points out.

"She kissed me on the cheek. It's not like we were makin' out or something," John B states.

"Low-hanging fruit, bro," JJ says.

"Don't pretend you don't notice. I see it in your eyes. You're like, 'I kinda like that,' and you start blushing," I state.

"I blush?" John B asks.

I nod. "Yeah."

"Really?" John B asks.

"Really," I tell him.

JJ goes to grab the compass off the dashboard and John B tries to grab it from him. JJ swats his hand away. "I was just looking at it."

I lean forward and look at the compass over JJ's shoulder. "I gotta admit, your father's compass in Scooter's boat, that's freaky."

"Yeah. That's why we're going to talk to Ms. Lana, figure this whole thing out," John B states.

"And I'm sure she would just love to talk to us. It's not like her husband just drowned or anything," JJ remarks.

We pull up to the house and hop out of the van. We start to walk towards the front door.

"Know what this house looks like? Whoever lives here smokes too much weed," JJ remarks.

I can hear glass breaking and things being thrown around in the house. I look at John B worried. He holds his hand out for JJ and I to stop.

"Bullshit!" a man shouts.

"Maybe we should come back. It's a little too soon," JJ states.

"No, no, shut up. Shut up, JJ," John B says as he keeps walking.

"Tell me where it is, or I'll fuck you up. I'll sink you in the fucking.." the man starts.

I hear something crash and Ms. Lanna screams. "You're hurting me!"

"I..." I start.

John B turns to me. "Shut up. Come on. Come on."

More things are thrown around. We duck beside the house close to a window. "Where the fuck is it, you bitch?"

Ms. Lana sobs. "I don't know!"

"Is it here in this house?" More crashing and sobbing. "Is it somewhere else?"

"Please! I ... I didn't,,," Ms. Lana whimpers.

JJ grabs John B and pulls him to the ground. " Still think we should stay?"

I hear more thumping and I close my eyes.

"The compass wasn't in the boat! Where is it, Lana?" the man asks.

"I don't know!" Ms. Lana shouts.

Glass shatters and the whole house shakes.

"Don't listen," John B tells us.

The house shakes and flecks fall from the window into our hair.

"Is that paint?" JJ asks.

"Yes, it's paint," John B says. He kneels to look through the windows Ms. Lana cries.

"Let's get the hell outta here, man," the man says.

"We should just go. He's got smuggler..." I start.

John B walks past me. "Shut up."

"...smuggler written all over him," I finsh.

John B peeks around the edge of the house. He pulls his head back quickly and stiffens. "Shut up. Shut up."

I can hear a boat engine start and Ms. Lanna crying. We peek around the house and it's the guys from the boat that shoot at us.

"Dude, those were the guys that shot at us," JJ states.

John B pushes us back around the house. "Go back."

The boat pulls away as we slowly walk into the house. Everything is all over the place.

"Ms. Lana?" John B asks.

We find her on the floor in the bathroom. The sink is falling off the wall. There are things everywhere. Those guys really did a number on her and the house.

John B rushes over to her. "Hey. Hey! Hey, are you okay? It's okay."

JJ puts his hand on John B's shoulder. "Dude, she's tweaking."

"Do you need a doctor?" John B asks. He tnrs to JJ and I. "Let's call the sheriff's department."

Ms. Lana sobs. "No. No. No cops, please."

"Mm. That's not good. Come on, dude. Let's just go," JJ says.

"You shouldn't be here," Ms. Lana tells us.

I grab John B's arm. "That's enough for me. Come on."

John B pulls his arm back. "Wait, wait. What do you know about these guys?"

"They were looking for something," Ms. Lana answers.

"Does it have anything to do with this?" John B pulls the copass out of his pocket. "Do you know anything about this? This is my father's, and Scooter had it. Why?"

Ms. Lana shakes her head. "Scooter didn't have it, okay? Don't tell anyone you have it."

JJ taps John B. "Come on."

"Why?" John B asks.

"They can't know that you have that! You've gotta get out of here!" Ms. Lana shouts.

"What do you know about the compass?" John B asks.

"Go! Get out!" Ms. Lana shouts.

JJ pulls John B to his feet. "We gotta go. Let's go."

We head back to John B's. Kie and Pope come over and JJ is having a great time telling them about what happened.

"And we were right outside like this. And all we hear is just, 'Bam! Bam! Bam!' Knocking paint off the wall, G! From the inside. All right? And I'm just looking at him, like... Wait, first off, look at this shit." JJ shakes paint chips from his hair onto Poep. "Look at it."

"The house," Pope says.

Kie looks at JJ in disgust. "That's dandruff, disgusting."

Pope holds his hand up. "Okay, thank you."

"Look at all that. All right? That's paint. At that point, I was just, like... I'm waiting for death," JJ remarks.

"Oh, okay, so you saw the guys that shot at us, right?" Pope asks.

"Yeah," JJ answers.

"Did you get a good description of them? What did they look like?" Pope asks.

"Anything?" Kie asks.

"Anything we can bring to a police report?" Pope questions.

"Burly," JJ says.

"Burly?" Pope questions.

"Yeah. You know, like,,," JJ trails off.

"That's not very helpful," Kiara states.

"Okay, well, no, like the type of guy at my dad's garage. I mean, you guys know he made cargo hides for drug smugglers," JJ sayys.

Kie nods. "Yeah. Yes. No, we know."

"I can tell you with full confidence, these boys, these killers..." JJ takes a hit of his vape. "They're square groupers."

"They're square groupers, like narco square grouper? Like Pablo Escobar square grouper?" Pope questions.

JJ takes another rhit. "Yeah, man."

"You guys, not everything is a kingpin movie," Kie states.

"What does this square grouper look like? Specifically?" Pope asks.

"You weren't there, bro," JJ states.

"Apparently you don't know what to look for," Pope remarks.

"Dude! I wasn't taking little mental Polaroids the entire time. I was under duress, okay? But I can tell you... I can tell you by the way that Ms. Lana was screaming... that these guys are serious, serious hombres, man. It's a heavy vibe right now, okay? I'm not liking this very much," JJ says.

"Okay. Why do they want the compass?" Kie asks.

"It's a piece of shit. You couldn't pawn it off for five bucks if you wanted to." Pope looks at John B. "No offense. I know it's in your family..."

"The office," John B states.

I look at him confused. "What?"

"My dad. My dad's office." John B starts walking towards the house. "He always kept the office locked because he was worried about his competitors stealing his Royal Merchant research. We used to laugh at him like he was gonna find it. But now that he's gone, I've just kinda..." John B stops in front of a door. "I just left it as he kept it."

"Yeah, for when he gets back.," Kie states.

"Yeah." John B opens the door.

"I've slept over here like 600 times, and I've never seen this door opened," Pope comments.

Walking in the office is a mess. There are books and papers all over the place.

John B throws the keys down and picks up a board. "Here, look. This is the original owner, right here."

"Okay. Robert Q. Routledge, 1880 to 1920. There's the lucky compass, right there," Kie states.

"Actually, um... he was shot after he bought it. Then the compass was shipped back to Henry. Henry was killed in a crop-dusting accident when he had the compass. After he died, the compass was given to Stephen. Stephen had the compass with him when he died in Vietnam," John B expains.

"Let me guess, he died in action, right?" JJ questions.

"Sort of. Uh, a-actually, he was killed by a banana truck. In... in country," John B clarifies. We all look at him. "Anyways, after that, Stephen passed the compass down to him, my dad."

"Hm. Sounds like there's a recurring theme here," I offer.

"Yeah, you have a death compass," Pope states.

"I do not," John B states.

"You have a death compass," Pope states.

"Seriously dude, get rid of it," JJ advises. "It's cursed, and made its way back to you."

John B stops pacing and faces us. "Look, my dad used to talk about this compartment in here." John B sits down in a chair and starts to fumble with the compass. "Soldiers used to hide secret notes." He unscrews the bottom of it.

"What's that?" Kie asks.

"That wasn't there before." Written inside the lid is a word. "This is my dad's handwriting."

"How can you know that?" Pope asks.

"Because he does these weird Rs with the," John B holds up the writing, "See it?"

"Can I see it?" JJ asks. He takes the compass from John B. "Red... Rout... No, I think that's an A."

"It says Redfield," I state.

"Right," JJ agrees.

"Okay, well, what's Redfield?" Kie asks.

"Beside the most common name in the county," Pope states.

"Oh, maybe... maybe it's a clue. Right maybe it's a clue to where he's hiding," John B offers.

"Okay..." JJ trails off.

Pope shakes his head. "A clue? Come on, that's..." I give him a look. "But if it is a clue, maybe it's an anagram?"

John B picks up a pencil. "Yes. Perfect. Anagram. You need paper." He hands the pencil and paper to Pope. "Okay. Here you go."

"How can you concentrate with that thing crowing at you?" Pope asks as the rooster keeps clucking.

"JJ loves the rooster," John B states.

"I love the rooster," Kie states.

"Let me think," Pope says.

"Seriously, think, I tell him.

"Dedfiel. Colors...That's stupid," Pope says.

"What about Ritalin?" JJ offers.

"Um... Dreidel? Fiddler?" Kie says.

"Let's stick with what we're.... Defile. Does that mean anything to you?" Pope asks.

"Guys," John B says.

"You're missing a letter," I tell Pope.

"Guys! Somebody's here," John B shouts.

We all move to look out the window. A black truck pulls up in front of the house. The two guys from earlier get out.

"Guys, guys, is that them?" Kie asks.

JJ looks at me in disbelief. "No."

"Is that them?" Kie asks.

"This is suboptimal," Pope states.

JJ turns around. "John B, I told you. Why does it always..."

John B grabs JJ. "JJ! Hey, look at me." He pushes JJ into the wall. "Where's the gun?"

"Gun? I, uh, I can't..." JJ starts.

"Now you don't have the gun, the one time we need the gun?" I state.

"It was in my backpack, and then I...." JJ starts.

"Your backpack," John B says. "On the porch."

"It's on the porch," JJ says as he opens the door.

"Go, go," John B tells him.

"John Routledge!" the man shouts.

I fight back tears. "Guys!"

"Come on out now! Fuck..." the man shots.

JJ rushes back into the room and locks the door.

"They're on the front porch, guys," JJ tells us.

"Get out here! Routledge! Where you at, boy?" the men shout. I can hear them throwing things around.

"We gotta leave!" I point to the window. "Guys, window. Window." I can hear glass smashing. "Hurry."

JJ and Pope try to pry open the window.

"Sack this place!"

"What... what's happening? Why is it taking so long?" I ask.

"It's painted shut, okay?" JJ tells me.

"I'll check the kitchen. Routledge!"

Things are being thrown around as Pope and JJ still try to get the window open.

"Okay, guys. Guys. Here, I got it," Kie says. She has a screwdriver in her hand.

"Where the hell's that compass? Hey, check the back room."

"Come on. Come on," JJ tells her.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Kie tells him.

Pope and John B are standing in front of the door fingers up to their lips. "Shh... Be quiet."

I can hear the men yelling and things crashing. "You better not be in there!" The door rattles as the man tries to open it. He kicks the door and it starts to break. He shouts at the handle.

Kie pryes the window open before they can get in. We take off running towards the chicken coop. The rooster won't stop clucking.

"Do something, Pope. Shut him up," JJ tells him.

"What do you want me to do?" Pope questions.

"Pet it, or talk to it. I don't know," I tell him.

I hear the truck door slam shut.

The chickens keep clucking. 

"You do something," Pope says.

JJ grabs the chicken. He wrestles with it until he snaps its neck. I stare at him in shock.

"Ratter! What the hell are you doin'? Let's go."

The engine starts and the truck drives away. Kie is sobbing as I try to wipe the tears from my own eyes.


	8. seven

We all sit in John B's van on the way to somewhere. Pope is staring at the compass as he sits in the passenger's seat.

"I mean, it's obvious, right? A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to me, right?" John B reasons.

"Yeah. It's possible," Kie agrees.

"It could also be possible that you're concocting wild theories to help, you know, deal with your sad feels," Pope offers.

"Pope? Bro, you know how I process my sad feels. Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it," JJ states as he looks right at me. I roll my eyes.

"I'm not concocting, okay? My dad's trying to give me a message" John B insists.

"If it helps you believe, John B..." Kiara trails off.

"Look, I-I don't need a therapy session, okay? Look, I'm not trippin' out," John B tells us.

"It's okay to trip, bro, but..." I start.

"Look, my... my dad is missing, okay? Missing. You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish and then have no idea what happened. Just wake up every morning wondering," John B tells us.

"It's been almost a year," Kie reminds him.

"Hey, he could have been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility," I offer.

"Yeah, could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere," Pope says.

"Absolutely. Uh... or Atlantis," JJ adds.

"JJ. Look, what do you think the message is?" Kie asks.

"Redfield," John B states. We pass the sign for the lighthouse. "Redfield Lighthouse. That's my dad's favorite place."

We stop in front of the lighthouse and get out of the car. John B turns to look at JJ. "Right. You're gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay?"

"Wait... Why me?" JJ asks.

"Because you're not coming," Pope states.

"Why?" JJ asks.

"There are independent and dependent variables." Pope says. "You're independent. We don't know what you'll do."

JJ yells at him, "Shut up!"

John B interrupts them, "Listen to me for a second. Storm, you stand look out with JJ. Okay? If we get split up, we meet back at JJ's house."

"Great," Kie says.

Kie, John B, and Pope start towards the light house.

JJ smiles at me. I shake my head. "Don't give me that look."

JJ chuckles as he walks towards me. "What look?"

"You know what look," I state. JJ just keeps smiling. "I'm not having sex in John B's van."

"Come one no one has to know," JJ tells me. He keeps walking towards me till my back hits a tree.

"I have more dignity than that," I tell him. He gives me a look. "That time on the boat doesn't count."

"Come on," JJ says.

He starts to kiss my neck up to my jaw. He places his lips on mine and it's like I melt into his hands. He grabs onto my waist pulling us closer together.

Suddenly I hear sirens wailing in the distance. I push JJ off of me. "Oh, shit."

JJ and I book it to the van. We don't wait around for the others before we take off. We drop the van off at John B's before heading back to my house.

I walk in through the front door JJ behind me. "Mom?"

I hear a groan and see my mother half asleep on the couch. "Daniel?"

"It's me mom, Storm," I tell her.

She sits up to look at me. "Oh the princess decided to come home."

"Sorry I was helping some friends out after the hurricane," I tell her.

My mom eyes JJ. "Yeah helping them get off."

JJ looks at me in shock. I shake my head. "Why don't you just worry about yourself mom." I point to the whisky bottle on the table. "What is that number three."

My mom stands up and stumbles towards me. "I don't need my slut of a daughter telling me how to live my life."

I scoff. "Which one of us is the slut?"

My mother slaps me across the face. I don't hesitate to hit her back. She stumbles before falling flat on her back. She doesn't even say anything as she falls back asleep on the floor.

JJ looks surprised by what he just witnessed. I grab his hand and drag him through the house and out the back door. I don't stop until we're on the dock.

JJ stares at me for a moment before speaking. "Does that happen often?"

I laugh. "That's why I tend to only come home at night. She is usually off with some guy or at some bar getting drunker than she already is."

JJ nods his head in understanding. His old man beats on him, worse than my mother ever could.

"It's hard to believe that the woman in there is my mother," I confess. I sit down and dangle my feet over the edge. "It's even harder to believe she wasn't always like that."

JJ smiles as he sits next to me. "I remember one time when we were kids your mom and dad took us to get ice cream in town. We ate so much your dad was convinced were going to be sick."

I laugh. "We had such a sugar high that by the time we got back to my house you and I had crashed in the backseat."

JJ shakes his head. "It was a lot easier back then."

"I didn't even have to walk to my own bed," I joke. I shake my head. "It's shit how you and I got dealt bad hands."

JJ shrugs his shoulder. "It doesn't matter what our parents do or say so long as we have each other."

I hold out my pinky finger. "J-Storm forever."

JJ wraps his pinky with mine. "J-Storm forever."

I turn around when I hear a car in the driveway. I see John B in his van with Pope.

"This better be good," JJ says.

We stop to pick up Kiara. Pope heads to get her. A minute later he comes out alone. "She says she's not comin'."

"Why not?" JJ asks.

"What'd you do to her, John B?" I ask.

"Shit." John B grips the steering wheel. "Hang on. I'll deal with it."

I don't know what he says but a few minutes later he comes out with Kie in toe.

We start the drive to the cemetery.

JJ is lying down in the backseat. "You mind if I just relax on this one? It's been a long day, and a lot of weird stuff's gone down. I'm just gonna lay low." He looks at Pope. "Oh, did you want a hit of this?"

Pope holds his hand up. "I keep the signal clear."

I grab the blunt and take a hit. "Dude, okay. Do you understand that your problem is that you don't get creative? If you got creative, then..."

John B interrupts, "Look, I... I know I was wrong about the lighthouse, all right? And wrong about everything else going on. But I... I was right about one thing. Okay? My dad is trying to tell me something."

It's not much longer till we get to the cemetery. John B leads the way. "Come on, hey. Hey, come on."

"I'm coming," Kie states.

"This place is scary," I say. JJ pulls me close to him and I try not to shout in surprise.

"John B, what are we doing?" Kiara asks.

"Shut up. Okay so, you know how you're trying to remember a song and can't remember who sings it?"

"Yeah," Kie says.

"So, Redfield. This whole time, I thought it was a place, right? But it's not a place." John B holds up the lantern to a mausoleum. "It's a person."

"Voi-effing-là," JJ remarks.

"See, my great-great-grandmother Olivia Redfield. That was her maiden name. Help me with the door. Come on," John B says.

Pope steps forward. "All right."

"One, two, three..." John B and Pope try to push the tomb open.

I turn to JJ. "Go."

"Are you pushing?" Pope asks.

"Yeah, I'm pushing," John B assures him.

JJ squeezes in next to Pope. "Hold on. I got it."

"This door is like 700 pounds. It's not gonna budge," Pope states.

"We didn't come this far to get this far, all right? We got this," JJ insists. Suddenly a snake hisses by him. "A snake!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Pope shouts.

"That's a moccasin, all right. Ye olde Dr. Cottonmouth. Death in tall grass." JJ starts barking at the snake.

"JJ, shut up. Shut up!" Kie shouts.

"You're gonna wake the dead, man," Pope states.

"They're afraid of dogs. Everyone knows that, man." JJ states. He grabs John B. "Wait, hold on."

"What?" John B asks.

"If there's one, there's probably dozens," JJ warns.

"What?" Pope asks.

"All around," JJ adds.

"Can you stopp, JJ. You're scaring me," I tell him.

JJ keeps barking at the snake.

"Stop barking at the snakes," John B instructs.

"Look, John..." Pope starts.

"Just making sure it's clear," JJ states.

"Shut up. John, look. We're not gonna get in there, all right? It's not budging. We should probably just go," Pope advises.

I look at the mausoleum. There is a small crack towards the top of the door. "I can get through."

"What? No, no, no, no. You think you're gonna fit through the hole? That hole?" John B asks.

"Look, this is about your dad. And honestly, I really don't believe in it, but you deserve to know the truth. I'll do it." I tell them. I walk towards the door. "Come on."

"I'll get those..." JJ says as he moves branches out of the way.

"Can you help me with that?" I ask.

"Ready? Come on," Pope says. Him and John B hold the branches out of the way.

"Come on. I got it," John B tells me.

"You got it?" I ask.

"Yeah, we got it," JJ tells me.

"Give her a boost," John B tells him.

"I'm gonna boost you, all right." JJ puts his back against the mausoleum. "I've seen it in the movies several times. Ready?"

"Remind me what we're looking for," I tell John B.

"You'll know when you see it," John B tells me.

"Hold my flashlight," I tell him.

"All right, so put your hands right there," JJ tells me.

I nod. "Yep. Foot..."

"Your foot. All right, on three," JJ tells me.

"All right," I push myself up using JJ's as a step stool.

"Okay, never mind. Just forget about three," JJ remarks.

"I'm really regretting wearing a skirt right now," I state.

JJ chuckles. "I'm not." I step on JJ's head. "Ow!"

"I got it. Oh." I crawl inside the tomb and land on my feet. "Okay, flashlight?"

"Yeah, here." Pope hands it to me through the crack.

"You alive? You got, like, a... a heartbeat and everything?" John B asks.

I use my flashlight to look around. "So far."

"That's good. That's good," John B tells me.

"Uh... I need some more light," I tell them.

"Yeah, yeah, here. Yeah, I gotcha." John B holds his lantern through the crack.

I see a hole in the wall and walk towards it.

"Did you find something?" JJ asks. "Is there gold?"

"Oh, my God."


	9. eight

I pull out a FedEx envelope from the hole. For Bird is written in black marker on the front. I pass it through to John B.

"That's not gold," Pope states.

I start to make my way out of the tomb.

"Holy shit. This is from my dad," John B tells us.

JJ lights a cigarette. "Code red. Code red. Square groupers! Square groupers!"

"Go," Kie says.

"It's the guys who robbed your house," JJ warns.

"Light!" I say.

We had behind tombs trying to stay out of sight.

Pope starts to fiddle with JJ's light. "Turn your light off, man!"

"John B? Your light!" Kie tells him.

"I see something!" a man shouts.

"Do you think it's them?" I ask.

"Homie's got a gun," JJ warns us.

"Screw this." I take off running and everyone follows after me. We climb over the cemetery gate.

"Hurry up!" JJ shouts.

"Go!" I shout. I can hear the gold cart coming towards us.

"Guys! Guys! Guys, I'm stuck," Pope tells us. His pants are stuck to the gate.

"Pope, come on!" JJ shouts.

"All right, guys..." John B says.

"I got you," Kie says as she runs towards him.

JJ holds up the gun. "No. Pope, don't move, okay?"

"You're gonna rip me," Pope protests. "Wait. You're gonna rip me!"

"You're fine. Come on!" Kiara shouts.

"Pope, come on!" I yell at him.

Kie gets Pope off the fence but his pants get ripped off in the process.

"Nice! Come on, dude. It's a little Tootsie Roll," JJ taunts.

Kie laughs. "Come on!" We all run to the van. "Get in! Stupid!"

Everyone is barely in the van when John B takes off.

We head back to John B's place. JJ is in the kitchen making a sandwich.

"That bread had mold on it three days ago," John B tells him.

"I'll just pull off the bad parts," JJ states. "Plus, mold is good for you. It's just a natural organism."

I call out to him, "JJ!"

He comes running into the room sandwich and beer in hand. "Yup, yup, yup! Hot damn! Let's do it." JJ bites into the sandwich and then spits it out.

John B rips open the envelope. He unflds a map with markings on it. "Holy shit."

Pope points to a spot. "Oh. X marks the spot."

John B moves his finger over the map. "Longitude, latitude. Wait, there's somethin' else in there."

"What's that?" JJ asks.

"It's a tape recorder, dumbass," I state.

John B plays the tape. "Dear Bird."

"Who's Bird?" JJ asks.

"That's what my dad called me," John B explains.

The tape goes on, "I hate to say, "I told you so,"

but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either." There are clattering sounds in the background. "You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly Father of the Decade." He sighs. "What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listenin' to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits." He sighs again. "If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If somethin' happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid. I love you, Bird, even if I didn't always act like it." There is a vehicle in the background. "I'll see you on the other side." There is static on the tape and then it ends.

John B gets up from the table and walks away. He leans against the doorframe and I can hear him crying.

"Holy shit, he did it! Big John... He found the Merchant..." JJ starts.

I cut him off, "Can you... can you please?"

"Sorry," JJ says.

I can hear John B sobbing. Kie walks over to comfort him. I know how it feels to lose a father. Even if I lost mine a decade ago it still hits me every once and awhile.

Once John B calms down we sit out back on the dock. Thunder rumbles in the distance. Kie strums on the guitar.

"How much was it again?" JJ asks.

"Four hundred mil," John B states.

JJ sighs. "All right, let's talk the split. Now, before we say 'evenly," may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us." JJ waves the gun. "Protection? Not cheap, okay?"

"You haven't trained. You've done zero training," Pope points out.

"YouTube, bro! That's at least a five percent bump right there," JJ argues.

"You haven't..." Pope starts.

"Any objections?" JJ shakes his head. "Didn't think so."

Kie and I raise our hands.

"Yeah," Pope says.

"I don't hear any, so..." JJ trails off.

"What are you gonna do with your share, Pope?" Kiara asks.

"Pay for college in advance. And also, textbooks. Those are expensive," Pope tells us.

"What about you, Kie?" JJ asks.

"Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?" Pope questions.

Kie chuckles. "Just wanna make a double album. About OBX, the Pogues." Pope chuckles. "You know, the way Catch a Fire is about Kingston. Record it at Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing."

"Peter Tosh is dead," Pope reminds her.

"Peter Tosh is dead. I know that Pope. Spirit of Peter Tosh will never die," Kie states.

Pope looks at me. "What about you Storm."

I think for a moment. "I'm gonna get a big ass house

on Figure Eight."

"And go full Kook," JJ states. "We can be neighbors."

"You two are gonna go full Kook?" Pope questions.

JJ nods. "Yup. Gonna get a marble statue of myself."

"Oh, I'm gonna get a koi pond. Put a bunch of those fish..." I start.

"I'm never visiting," Kie tells me.

"What are you gonna do, JB?" Pope asks.

"To going full Kook," John B says.

We all raise our drinks. "To going full Kook!"


	10. nine

We sit on John B's boat going through the inlet.

JJ whistles. "You guys see that? That's the Malibu 24-MXZ, the world's finest wakesetter. Number one in luxury, quality, and performance. 200K, easy."

"We picked the wrong parents," I state.

"I hate to break it to you guys, but that's Topper and his girlfriend," Kiara tells us. The boat goes by and sure enough it is. They look right past us like we are too poor to even pay attention to. "You don't have to act like you don't see us, bitch."

We pull up to the hotell JJ works at in John B's van. There is no power on our side of the island and we need the internet if we're going to find the gold.

"All right, keep a look out. We're behind enemy lines," JJ says as he pulls out his gun.

"Yo, come on, man. Just put it back," John B tells him.

"JJ," I say.

"What? You can never be too careful," JJ tells us.

Pope gets out of the car and leans against the passengers side door. "Hey, I predict that bringing a weapon to a four-star hotel will likely cause more problems than they solve."

"Thank you, Pope," John B says.

I lean forward between the two front seats. "I swear to God, I'm gonna throw that thing in the ocean, JJ. Put it back."

John B grabs the gun by the barrel and puts it in the glove compartment.

"There you go," Pope says.

"You can't grab a gun like that," JJ warns. He picks up his work ID. "Can't forget my badge." He gets out and slams the door shut. "Professional busboy."

"So, where are we going now?" Pope questions.

"We're getting on the internet because only rich people have electricity right now," JJ tells him. "This way!" We walk through the kitchen. "Andrew!"

"All right?" Andrew shouts.

"What's up, bro?" JJ greets. JJ picks food up off a plate. "Mama L, good to see you!"

The woman smacks his hand. "Hey, no! JJ!"

We walk out into the lobby. "Mm-hm. See, they got the backup generators going? Kooks don't miss a beat."

JJ leads us to a room where computers are.

Pope rushes towards one. "Sweet Lord, the internet!" He sits down in a chair. "I've missed you."

"Let me get in there. Gotta check out my Insta models," JJ states.

I give him a look. "We don't have time for that."

"Hey. Hey! Hey! My Dad's map," John says as he puts it down next to Pope.

"Coordinates, please?" Pope asks.

"34° 57' 30" north. 75° 55' 42" west," John B says. Pope plugs the numbers into the computer. "Okay. Boom, continental shelf right there." John B points.

"Well, if it's off the deep end, it's not gonna be much of a treasure hunt, is it?" Pope questions. John B sighs. "Come on, baby. Come on."

I can hear people talking and laughing in the hallway.

"Shit, it's on the high side. It's only 900 feet," John B states.

"That's not too deep," JJ states.

"Is that doable or something?" Kie asks.

"Yeah, totally doable, "JJ assures.

"Will we be taking your personal submarine?" Pope asks.

"How do you know this, Mr. Dive Master?" John B questions.

"The salvage yard. They got a drone that can drop 1,000. It has a 360 camera and everything. It's for, like, deep dives and stuff. It's exactly what we need," JJ tells us.

"Can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?" John B asks.

"Well, my dad's grimy little hands got his ass fired. I guess the salvage captain frowns on showing up shitfaced, turns out. But the drone's there. It's in the impound yard out back," JJ informs us.

"How much did you say was on the Royal Merchant again?" I ask.

"400 million," John B states.

"400 mil," JJ says.

"400 million dollars?" I repeat. I start to walk towards the door.

Pope blocks my way. "No. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. No!"

"Pope! Move," I demand.

"Guys, that's too..." Pope starts.

I move him out of the way. "Come on."

"Can't we do anything legal for money?" Pope asks.

"Just go," John B tells him.

We head to the Salvage yard.

"Pope, we're not stealing the drone. We're borrowing it," John B states.

"'Humans are the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality,'" Pope quotes.

"Wait did you come up with that?" John B asks.

"No. Albert Bernstein came up with it, but it applies to this whole treasure-hunting thing," Pope reasons.

"Oh," John B says.

Pope turns to face him. "So, which is it? Fantasy or reality?"

"Why are you so weird, Pope?" JJ asks.

"It's fantasy, but possible reality," Kie states.

"Reality," John B says.

"Virtual reality." JJ puts a blunt in his mouth and takes out his lighter.

Pope takes the blunt from him. "Keep the signal clear."

We pull over in front of the Salvage Yard and Kie gets out.

"You know what your problem is?" JJ asks.

"You?" Pope asks.

"No! It's that you need to relax, man. You're always so tense!" JJ tells him.

"I'm not too tense," Pope argues.

Kie stands in front of the drivers side. "Hey, don't worry. You got this," John B tells her.

Kie points to JJ and Pope. "It's not me that I'm worried about."

John B nods. "Got it."

"Let's hope this works," I state.

Kie goes to distract the security guard while the rest of us wait on the side.

"How's it going with Kiara?" JJ asks.

"It's not awkward, weird, or anything," John B says.

I laugh. "Yeah. Honestly, I did not think you were gonna actually listen to JJ."

"What?" John B asks.

"I was 100 percent sure she was into you, bro," JJ states. John B sighs. "Pope would agree."

"Ehh..." Pope preplies.

"So, like, Kie, she, like, definitely gave you the Heisman?" I ask John B.

John B nods. "Oh, no question. Yup."

"Gotcha." JJ chuckles.

"Maybe she's just into somebody else," Pope offers. John B and JJ turn to look at him.

Kie has the security guard distracted as he fills the tire on a boat with air.

"Go, go, go, go," JJ says.

We take off running towards the back where the drone should be. We make it in through the gate just before it closes. JJ leads the way to a locked shed. He punches the code into the lock. It doesn't open.

"Do you have the right numbers?" Pope asks.

"All right, so I might have the wrong numbers," JJ admits.

"Ah, damn it!" Pope shouts.

Out of nowhere a german shepard shows up and starts barking at us. 

"Oh! Hey!" JJ shouts.

"That's a cougar. Never mind," John B says as he runs away.

"No, stay there! Good boy. No, you're okay!" JJ says as he takes my hand and we start running.

I stop and turn back to Pope. "Pope, run!"

Pope starts swinging a pipe at the dog. "Back off! Back off! Back off!"

JJ holds up something from his pocket. "I got a toy, boy! Wait, no. I was just kidding. Shit! Okay, sit!"

JJ and I run as the dog chases us. "Way to go JJ!"

JJ and I climb up a ladder and into a boat to get away from the dog.

I hear the security guard running our way. "What's that, huh? What's that, Tebow? What you got, huh? What you got? Whoever's up there better come on out!" I look at JJ unsure of what to do. "I mean it! Don't make me go up there and get your ass!"

"Wait, Bobby! Don't shoot," JJ says. He starts to stand up with his hands in the air. He gestures for me to do the same. "It's me, JJ. Luke's kid."

"What are you doin'?" Bobby asks.

"Look I swear, okay? I didn't want to, okay?" JJ says.

"Tebow, quiet!" Bobby yells at the dog.

"His dad made him," I state.

"Don't you lie," Bobby orders.

"He told me Captain Leo kept his cutting torch." JJ breathes shakily. "You know, after he got fired. He said if I didn't get it for him, he was gonna... he was gonna hit me again."

Bobby scoffs as he shakes his head. "Son of a bitch!"

"I'm sorry," JJ tells him.

"Come on down," Bobby tells us. JJ and I climb down the ladder. "I almost killed you!"

JJ sniffles. "I know."

The dog starts to growl. "Here! Come on. Come on," Bobby says.

"I'll just come up with somethin'. Tell him I couldn't find it," JJ says.

"Mm-hm. All right," Bobby points to the exit.

"Sorry," JJ says. He takes my hand and we walk off. I can see him smile as he wipes the fake tears from his eyes.

We head to Kie's parents place, the Wreck. "Stealing drones makes you hungry," Kie jokes.

"What I would do to a beer and shrimp and grits right now," JJ remarks.

"It would not be pretty," I tease.

Kie walks in and to the bar where her dad is. "Hey, Dad."

Mr. C smiles at her. "Hey."

"How'd we do?" Kiara asks.

"Didn't turn it over once," Mr. C tells her.

"It's probably just bad luck because of the storm," Kie offers as she hugs her dad.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to tell the banks that," Mr. C states.

"Guess now is not the best time to ask for free food for me and my friends?" Kie questions.

We watch as other customers eat their food. "So hungry," John B whines.

Kie and her dad turn to look at us. We all wave at them. Kie hugs her dead when he tells us we can have the leftovers.

"Sit down," Kie tells us.

We all sit down at one of the tables. JJ laughs. "Oh, yes!"

The guys shove the food in their mouths like they've never eaten before. I throw a fry at JJ and it misses his mouth. Kie knocks his leg from the table. She starts to dance and pulls me up with her. I can't help but laugh.

Kie gestures for John B to join her. He makes a face before giving in. I pull JJ from his chair as Pope watches. JJ laughs as I try to teach him how to dance.

"You owe me for this," JJ whispers in my ear.

I smile. "How about tonight?"


	11. ten

JJ and I stand with Pope on the dock. John B and Kie are in the water with the drone. On the screen I see John B rubbing his teeth,

JJ points at a button. "What's this right here?"

Pope smacks his hand away. "Don't touch that. I'm trying to work out this thing."

"God bless geeks, Pope. Truly, man. What would we do without you to control the drones?" I tease.

"Technically it's not a drone. It's an ROV," Pope starts.

"Shut up. Shut up. It's too early for that right now," JJ states.

"Hey look, once we get footage of the wreck, we'll bring it to a lawyer in town and file a formal claim," John B tells us.

"See it's bullshit why we have to do that," JJ says,

"Well, there is maritime salvage law. You can't just go to the ocean floor and scoop a bunch of stuff up," Pope reasons.

"I know. I know. It's just lawyers aren't cheap, bro," JJ offers.

"As soon as they see the footage, they'll work for a comp," John B assures.

"How do you know all of that?" Kie asks.

"'Cause my dad said it, like, a million times," John B says.

"Yeah, that's fair," Kiara reasons.

"This tether is, like, really long. In the wrong weather, it could get pushed around," Pope warns.

"Then we'll go at dead calm," John B says.

Thunder rumbles overhead.

"At slack tide?" I ask.

"So now, we just gotta wait around for the right weather. And today is not that day," Pope states.

A storm is rolling in. The clouds are dark and I can already hear the thunder.

JJ and I head off with Pope to keep him company while he does deliveries for his father.

"You guys get these groceries over to Figure Eight. Get straight back here when you're done," Heyward says as he hangs us plastic bags. "No fishin'. I promised delivery by this afternoon. Rich folks don't wanna wait for you lazy sons of..." JJ stands there with his arms outstretched. "Oh, JJ, thank you. ...sons of bitches."

We go past all the rich homes. They are in perfect condition, while our side of the island still doesn't have power.

"Doesn't even look like the storm hit there," Pope states.

"That's because they got generators, bro. Get used to it," I tell him.

"And then they say the juice will be out all summer at the cut," JJ adds.

"It's nice to be a Kook," Pope states.

"Lucky bastards," I remark.

I wait on the boat and tan while Pope and JJ deliver the groceries. Pope comes back first and he doesn't say anything. JJ comes back a little while later. He runs down the pier towards the boat.

"Pope!" JJ laughs. Dude, you are not going to believe what just happened to me, man!" He hops on the boat. "Whoo! That was the best 100 bucks I've ever made! When I say count me in on all these grocery deliveries, Pope, I mean it."

Pope doesn't say anything. I get up and stand near JJ. "What's up with you? You haven't spoken since you got back. Pope, you good?" I ask.

JJ looks at Pope. "Yo, what happened to your face, dude?" He lifts up Pope's hat and sees a cut on the side of Pope's head. "Jesus!"

"What happened?" I ask. 

"Rafe and Topper jumped me. They said no Pogues on their side of the island," Pope tells us.

"What are you gonna do?" JJ asks.

We stop where Topper's new wakesetter is parked. Pope stares at it with determination. "2020 Malibu, 24-MXC. The world's finest wakesetter. Number one in quality, luxury, and performance."

"This is war, Pope," I tell him.

"They hit us, we hit them," JJ states. "Do it."

JJ and I watch as Pope swims to the wakesetter. It doesn't take long for him to reach the boat and pull out the plug. The thing will sink in no time. Pope swims back to the boat and shows us the plug in his hand.

"Wow, you did it," I state.

JJ laughs. "I'm so proud of you right now. Holy crap."

Pope looks at me. "Storm?"

I nod my head. "Yeah."

"You can't tell anybody. You either JJ." Pope tells me.

"Oh, no, yeah. Totally, dude," I assure him.

"No, I'm serious, dude. Not Kie, not John B, nobody," Pope says.

JJ nods. "Yup, my lips are sealed. Give me that. Give me that." JJ throws the plug into the water.

"Okay! Let's get outta here," I tell Pope.

After bringing Heyward's boat back we head out to surf. John B and Kie are already in the ocean.

"Hey! Save some waves for us!" JJ shouts.

"Hey, where you been?" Kie asks.

We spend a few hours surfing. Trying to upstage one another. It's times like this that our real world troubles seem to disappear. When I'm in the water with my friends my mom doesn't exist, Kooks don't exist, no one is trying to kill us.

After a while we turn in. We sit in John B's backyard like we always do.

"You really think it's out there? Like, no bullshit?" Pope asks.

"My father thought it was,"John B answers.

"But do you?" Pope asks.

"After hearing his voice on that tape... I think I do," John B confesses.

"Only one way to find out," Pope states.

"Look, we're gonna find it, you know?" Kie offers.

"Even JJ believes," I add.

"Oh, my God, JJ, do you really believe?" John B teases.

"Totally. Wait. Are we talking about four mil?" JJ questions.

"Four hundred mil," Kie and Pope say at the same time.

Kie laughs. "Jinx."

"I'm gonna dream about shipwrecks. Good night, Bird!" JJ shouts.

"Good night, bird shit!" John B counters.

We take the boat out to where the wreck is supposed to be. It takes a while but we eventually stop.

"All right, JJ. Pin it here," John B instructs.

"Roger that! X marks the spot," JJ states.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen." John B picks up the drone. "To going full Kook." He lowers the drone into the water.

Kie makes sure the line doesn't get tangled, Pope watches the monitor. John B is watching our location. JJ and I are standing at the wheel.

"All right, JJ, we're right over it. Ten seconds northwest," John B tells him.

"Got it! Ten seconds northwest," JJ says. He maneuvers the boat to the location.

"One hundred feet," Kie says.

Pope gasps and John B rushes over to him. "What? What, what, what, what?"

"It was nothing," Pope tells him. John B groans. "Sorry, I thought..."

"Don't do that to me, man. Come on, bro!" JJ shouts.

"My bad. I just thought I saw..." Pope trails off. "And to quote The Hobbit, 'Down, down, to Goblin Town. Down, down, you go, my lad.'"

"Four hundred feet!" Kie shouts. Thunder rumbles overhead. "The tide's turning."

I can hear monitors beeping.

"Hey, JJ?" John B says.

"Yup?" JJ replies.

"Ten seconds easy. Alright. South-southeast," John B tells him.

"Copy that!" JJ shouts as he turns the boat.

"JJ, 20 seconds mid-speed, all right? South," John B instructs.

"Copy that! Aye, aye. Come on." JJ turns the boat again.

"Keep the tether out of the prop!" I shout.

"I'm trying!" Kie tells me.

"JJ, keep going!" John B yells.

"John B, is that good?" JJ asks.

"We're good! We're good!" John B replies.

"Okay, 700 feet!" Kie shouts.

The weather is getting worse. A storm is blowing in. The boat is rocked by a wave and I fall into JJ.

He smiles at me. "Okay..."

"JJ, hold it steady!" John B shouts.

"Okay, 900!" Kie shouts.

"JJ, we'll turtle in this storm," I warn.

"920!" Kie shouts.

"Crank it north by northwest! Ten seconds!" John B shouts. "Pope, how are we doing?"

"Almost there," Pope answers.

"John B, there's too much current!" Kie yells. "We're gonna lose it!"

"South, southwest, JJ! Hard!" John B shouts. The monitors beep. "Half speed. Steady at this bearing, JJ!"

JJ struggles to keep the boat where it is.

"What do you got, Pope? Come on, man. What do you see?" John B asks.

"Nothin'. A whole lot of nothin'," Pope tells him.

"You should be right above it, brother," John B tells him.

"Kiara!" Pope shouts.

"960," Kie reads. "970! 980!"

"I'm at the bottom! I'm at the bottom!" Pope shouts.

"Okay, steady here, JJ!" John B yells. "Steady here. Quarter speed, all right?" John B turns back to Pope. "You should be seeing something, man."

"I know, I know!" Pope shouts. "Wait, wait. Oh, good God."

I walk out to watch the monitor with them.

"See anything?" JJ asks.

John B chuckles. "It's the Royal Merchant."

A shipwreck comes into view on the monitor. I can't believe what I'm seeing.


	12. eleven

There's a moment in every kid's life when you feel like anything's possible. When you feel like you've got the total mojo. You could, I don't know, free-climb El Capitan, land on Mars, or, uh... get elected president. The whole world's there for the taking if you've got the sack to go for it. And then, when you least expect it, some Kook shows up and tells you there's no eternal mystery. And then all that talk about free-climbing and Mars and the president... bullshit. Magic gets cancer and dies.

Right now is that moment.

What looked like the wreck of the Merchant is just the bare bones of the different ship. There isn't anything worth salvaging.

John B sighs. "It's not there. Look, just... just pull the drone up." Thunders keeps rumbling. "Shit."

"Look, we can do another pass. recharge the battery. We can... we can go back down," Pope offers.

"We've done it three times. There's nothing there," JJ says.

Kiara yells at him, "Shut up!

"What? It's true!" JJ shouts back.

"The gold could be buried. We don't know," Kie offers.

"If it was there, it would've been found on the metal detector, okay? Somebody beat us to it," John B states.

JJ mutters under his breath, "Or it was never there."

I sit in JJ's backyard as he practices shooting the gun. He's using a teddy bear as the target. I'm honestly just happy he hasn't accidentally shot himself yet. JJ is about the last person I trust with a gun.

"JJ!" Pope shouts as he comes running towards us.

"What was that?" JJ asks as he fires the gun again.

"JJ!" Pope shouts again.

JJ fires the gun again. "That's what I thought, man."

"JJ! They know," Pope tells him.

"What?" JJ asks.

"They know," Pope repeats.

I walk over towards him. "All right, chill, bro. All right?"

"They don't know shit," JJ insists.

"Topper knows I sunk his boat," Pope says.

"How do you know they know?" I ask.

"Because Rafe and Topper posted outside of Heyward's and mad dogged me," Pope tells us.

"Will you calm down and get a grip, man? They don't know shit," JJ insists.

"They have cameras. They could've seen me," Pope argues.

"There was no power. How could they have seen you?" JJ asks.

"It's Figure Eight. They got generators." Pope continues to pace back and forth. "They don't give scholarships to kids who vengefully sink boats. It's not a good look on my transcript."

"Enough with the regret, bro!" JJ shouts. JJ stands up in front of Pope. "They caved your face in."

"They hit us, we hit them. It's the law of the jungle," I remind him.

"Now, if any Kooks come up to you and ask if you had anything to do with it, you walk up to 'em," JJ puts his hand on Pope's shoulder. "Look 'em right in the eye, and..."

"Deny the living shit out of it," Pope finishes.

"That's right. Deny, deny, deny. But just for safety, we don't go anywhere without protection." JJ points to the gun. "Right?"

"I'm so glad that they're still doing this," Kie tells us.

She is draggin Pope, JJ, and I to the summer movie series.

"Keep calm. Carry on. Back to OBX life. You know? Aren't you glad I made you come?" Kiara asks.

"Ecstatic," Pope replies.

I nod my head. "Sure."

"My couch was pretty comfy, I'll be honest," JJ states.

"We're out of the green zone, man," Pope whispers.

"Dude, tranquilo, okay?" JJ tells him.

"We're in the middle of Kooklandia. This is the last place I wanted to be," Pope states.

"You two can set up I'm going to get drinks," I state. I walk over to one of the venders. "Hey, uh... can I get two Pepsis, please?"

The man smiles at me. "Sure."

"Hey, Storm." Rafe is walking towards me. "Hey, what's up? How are you?"

I give him a look. "I'm fine."

"Good, good. Um... Tell your boy that we know what he did," Rafe states/

"Sorry, what boy are you talking about?" I ask.

"Uh, he'll know," Rafe tells me. I turn to walk away. "Bye."

"Douche," I say.

I walk back over to where the guys are. "Just saw Rafe, and he said, and I quote, 'Tell your boy that we know what he did.'"

Kie looks at me confused. "What is that?"

"Um... Where is he?" JJ asks.

I turn to look over my shuolder where Rafe is with Topper and Kelce. "Right there."

Pope stares at them. "Great, the whole death squad. Ah!"

JJ grabs him by the head and turns him around. "Don't stare, bro. Just warning you, bro. If they corner me, I'm coming out swinging, okay? Slice and dicin'. I'm on edge right now."

Pope nods. "Yeah, yeah."

"If that doesn't work, I got this right here. Okay?" JJ holds up his backpack.

"Yeah, yeah. So, we just gotta stay in the group. They can't get us in the group," Pope states.

"Like a school of fish," JJ offers.

"Stay in the school. Can't leave the school," Pope states.

"I'm sorry, JJ... Please tell me that you did not bring a gun here. JJ, there are kids," Kie reminds him.

"No! Kie, I didn't bring the gun. Everything's fine, okay?" JJ tells her.

"Wow, thank you. That's really convincing. I love that, JJ." Kie pauses for a moment. "Founding principle, you guys. No secrets amongst Pogues. What is Rafe talking about?"

"Kie, it might go down tonight," Pope tells her.

"What does that mean? 'Might go down tonight.' What did y'all do?"Kiara asks.

"Deny, deny, deny," JJ whispers to Pope.

We sit and watch the movie in peace for a while. That's until Pope decides he has to pee. "Gotta take a piss," Pope whispers.

"Hold it," I tell him.

"I can't hold it. I drank too much soda," Pope tells me.

"It's too exposed. They'll totally see us," JJ warns.

"I gotta go." Pope turns to look back at Rafe and Topper. "They're blocking the bathrooms."

JJ starts to get up. "Come here. I know where."

"Hey, where y'all going?" Kie asks. 

"We gotta wring it out," JJ tells her.

"You gonna hold it for each other?" Kie asks.

I shake my head as they walk away. "We need new friends."

Kie laughs slightly. "I'd lose my mind without you in this group."

I go back to watching the movie but it doesn't last long. I can see people fighting behind the screen. Kie grabs the backpack and we run over together.

I try to push Rafe off of JJ while Kie tries to get Topper off Pope. "Let go of him, Rafe!" Rafe pushes me backwards. I don't stop as I jump on his back. "Rafe. Stop it!"

Kelce pulls me off of Rafe and throws me on the ground. "Stay out of this."

"Are you okay Storm? "I hear JJ ask.

I crawl over to JJ's backpack. Rafe is beating the crap out of JJ. Topper has Pope in a choke hold. I open the backpack and pull out the gun. I stop when I see JJ's lighter in the bag. I put the gun back and pull out the lighter. I light the screen on fire. It doesn't take long for the whole screen to go up in flames.

"Guys! Fire!" Rafe shouts.

I yell at Kelce. "Kelce, let go of JJ!"

Pope starts to cough as Topper lets him go. Kelce does the same with JJ.

"Let's get outta here," Rafe says.

Kie looks at Pope. "You good? You're okay."

Pope looks at me. "You're a freakin' idiot."

"I saved your ass," I tell him. I wrap my arm around JJ. "Come on."

The next day we help Pope at Heyward's.

"Don't let it get in your head. Three of them and two of us. That's typical Kook shit right there," JJ remarks.

"Hell, yeah," I agree.

"What was your thought process, using your head?" JJ asks.

"I don't know, man. I just kind of acted off instinct. Alright, I was a cornered animal," Pope explains.

Heyward walks towards Pope. "Hey, Pope, someone here to see you."

Deputy Shoupe walks in the front door.

"Evening, Officer," Pope says.

"I have an arrest warrant for felony destruction of property," Deputy Shoupe tells Pope.

"What?" Heyward asks.

Pope looks at JJ and I.

Hands where I can see 'em," Deputy Shoupe instructs. "Young lady, out of my way."

"Whoa. Shoupe, what'd he do?" Heyward asks.

"Look at the warrant," Deputy Shoupe tells him.

"You're arresting him?" Kie asks.

"You're just arresting my boy?" Heyward questions.

"Be careful!" Kie shouts.

Shoupe, are you listening?" Heyward asks.

Deputy Shoupe is reading Pope his rights as he handcuffs him, "...you say can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney."

"How much did they pay you, man?" JJ questions.

Deputy Shoupe starts to lead Pope out of Heyward's. We follow after him. When we get to the squad car everyone stops.

"It wasn't him!" JJ shouts. I look at him in shock. "It was me. He tried to talk me out of it, but I was mad because he'd just been beaten up. I was so sick of those assholes from Figure Eight that I lost my shit." JJ looks at Pope. "I can't let you take the blame for somethin' I did. You've got too much to lose."

"JJ, what are you doing?" Pope questions.

"I'm tellin' the truth. For once in my goddamn life, I'm gonna tell the truth. I took his old man's boat, too," JJ states.

"What the hell?" Heyward asks.

"JJ, come on," Pope starts.

"Just shut up, Pope!" JJ shouts. "Just shut up. He's a good kid. You know where I'm from."

Deputy Shoupe nods. "Yeah."

"This was all me," JJ states.

"That's the whole truth?" Deputy Shoupe asks.

"Whole truth, swear to God," JJ insists.

"I know what you think, damn it, I'm asking Pope here," Deputy Shoupe says.

Pope looks at JJ for a moment before responding. "Yeah, that about covers it."

Deputy Shoupe takes the handcuffs off of Pope and places them on JJ. JJ nods at me letting me know he's gonna be okay. They pull away and Pope throws his hat on the ground. "Shit!"

"Pope? Pope!" His father calls after him.

I stand outfront of Heyward's not knowing what to do. My idiot boyfriend just got arrested.


	13. twelve

I sit in my backyard waiting to hear from JJ. It was our fault Pope sunk Topper's boat. We could have stopped him. We should have stopped him. It's just, constantly being put down by the Kooks is enough to drive anyone to do something crazy. Of course Pogues are the ones that get sent to jail. Kooks get away with murder around here.

I stand up when I hear a motorbike. JJ comes speeding down my driveway stopping a few feet from me. He has new cuts on his face that werent there when he got arrested.

I walk over to him and grab his chin. "What happened?"

JJ takes my hand off his face. "I owe 30 grand in restitution."

I look at him concerned. "Okay. We can work it off. I can help you."

JJ shakes his head. "Yeah I told my dad the same thing and look what happened."

"He hit you," I state.

"He beat the shit out of me in the car outside the police station," JJ tells me. I pull JJ into a hug. I can hear him sniffle as he starts to cry. "I pointed the gun at him."

I pull back and look at him. "What?"

"He was asleep on the couch and I pointed the gun at him. I almost shot my dad," JJ cries.

I wipe the tears from his eyes. "Hey. Hey. It's okay." I pull him back into a hug. "You're okay. It's gonna be okay." I rub JJ's back as he starts to calm down. I smile at him as he pulls away. "No matter what your dad does you always have me." I hold out my pinky. "J-Storm forever."

JJ wraps his pinky with mine. "J-Storm forever." JJ smiles. "Now we gotta go."

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Just get on the bike I'll explain at John B's," JJ tells me.

I get on the back of the pick and hold onto JJ. "Try not to kill us."

When we get to John B's house we wait around for a while. Then I realize that there is a car outfront of John B's house that we don't recognize. JJ and I hide waiting for him to come home.

When JJ sees John B he grabs him by the head and covers his mouth. John B fights back and throws JJ on the ground.

"It's me, JJ. Stop, stop, stop, stop," JJ tells him.

John B hits him in the chest. "What are you doing, Bro?"

JJ covers his mouth. "Shut up." He pulls him down beside a truck.

I point to the car watching us. "See that? They're watching us, okay?"

"Who?" John B asks.

"I don't know," JJ tells him.

"Let's go. Sneak around to the dock," I tell John B.

We walk through the marsh. The water gets higher as we go.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. You got the keys to the Pogue?" John B asks.

JJ nods. "Yeah."

John B and JJ hold their bags on their heads as the water is almost head high. We get to the Pogue and pull ourselves in. JJ and John B untie the boat as we lay on the floor, keeping out of sight. John B starts the engine and we're off.

We park the boat by a little clearing on the marsh. I sit next to JJ on a rock as John B sits across from us.

"First, I almost get strangled to death by Kooks, and now I'm on the hook for 30 grand," JJ says.

"We should just dip," I offer.

"Okay, where do you wanna go? Hm?" John B questions.

"Yucatan," JJ offers.

John B scoffs. "Yucatan."

"No, I'm dead serious right now. Surf all day, and then we can just live off lobsters we catch with our bare hands," JJ reasons.

"You just wanna leave 'cause you got your ass beat?" John B says.

"You didn't see the photos," JJ states. THe two guys that were after us were found dead, and used a chum.

John B hops off the rock. "Think about it. They're willing to kill for the gold, then it's gotta be out there."

I kop down and Face John B. "Have you lost your mind?" I shout. "One hundred years, man. One hundred years, people have been tryin' to find this Royal Merchant, and no one succeeded. And you think you are gonna be the one that actually finds it? When will you get it in your thick skull? If you keep goin' down this road, you're gonna end up just like your dad!"

John B shoves me. "I can't give up, Storm!" He gets in my face. "The last time I saw that dude, we got in an argument, and then he took all of our rent money and dipped for this Royal Merchant. And then I told him he was a shit father, and you know how the rest of the story goes." He walks away.

"Bro, that wasn't your fault," JJ insists.

John B turns back to us. "It doesn't matter whose fault it is, JJ! Do you not understand that? I can't give up on the hunt, man. I don't care who's out there, who's gonna try to kill us. Do you understand that? You know that." John B grabs his bag and starts walking off. "Look, I've got a plan. You comin' or what?" JJ and I look at each other. "Four hundred million, JJ. How much do you owe in restitution?"

JJ and I agree to keep on with the treasure hunt. We head to the Island Club where the Midsummer party is happening. John B pulls the boat up onto the sand.

"Ready?" I ask.

"Can you believe this Midsummer shit, man?" John B asks.

JJ shrugs. "Of course I can. Happens every year No matter how screwed up the rest of us are."

We start walking towards the party. "So, like, what's the plan, exactly?"

John B holds out a paper to JJ. "Okay, look, I need you to get this to Sarah."

"Ooh! Can I read it?" JJ asks.

"No, you can't read it," John B tells him.

JJ ignores him and unfolds the note. "Who's Vlad?"

"God, do you ever listen?" John B asks.

"Hold up. Are you mackin' Sarah Cameron?" JJ asks.

"Would you shut up?" John B says.

"You're macking Sarah Cameron!" JJ shouts.

"All right, man. I'm doin' it for everybody, all right?" John B tells him. "What?"

"Nothin'. Thanks for bein' a team player, bro," JJ remarks. He puts on a white button up and starts to do the buttons.

"Yeah, well..." John B tries to tie a bowtie around JJ's neck. "You know, could you just hold still?"

"So I just give that to Sarah? Huh?" JJ asks.

"Yes, just give it to Sarah," John B tells him. "Hold still."

"Vlad. Really?" I ask.

John B goes through JJ's bag and finds the gun. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm not kidding you," JJ states.

"If you get caught, you're goin' to jail." I tell him.

"Fine, but if I get ambushed, it's on you," JJ tells me.

While John B goes to find Sarah I hang around where Pope and his father are catering. Pope looks surprised to see me. "What are you doing here?"

I smile. "Helping with the plan."

"And what part are you playing?" Pope asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't really know. I just didn't want to sit down in the boat by myself in the dark."

"So you saw JJ?" Pope asks. I nod. "His dad was beatin' on him again."

I nod again. "I know." Pope's face falls. "It's not your fault. JJ chose to take the blame. He knew what could happen. So stop beating yourself up over it."

Suddenly JJ is being dragged out of the hotel by security. "Look... look, man, I can walk myself. I got legs. Can you see that, brother? I really appreciate what you did back there. Let me just walk out by myself. Mr. Dunleavy, I see you got your drink. Good, that's really nice of you." JJ picks up the glass. "I'm actually gonna down that." The security guard lets him go. "It's okay, everybody! Do not panic. Leave it to the men and women in uniform. Let's hear it for them. Rose! You look like Lady Liberty. It's good to see you again." The security guard grabs him. "Hey, buddy, can I have one of those?"

"Let go of him!" Kie shouts from the porch. "You can't boot him!"

The security guard looks at him. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

"I invited him here," Kie states.

Her mom tries to stop her, "Kiara, stop it."

"I'm a member of this club," Kie explains.

JJ pushes the security guard. "Sorry about that." He points at Kiara. "Hey, mandatory power hour at Rixon's, Kie." He points at Pope. " Pope, you as well, all right? Rixon's Cove. Storm, let's roll." He keeps walking. "All right, Kie, come on. Workers of the world unite. Throw off your chains!"

I follow after him and find John B.

JJ salutes him. "Colonel."

John B salutes back. "Captain."

"Mission accomplished," JJ tells him.

Kie ignores her parents and follows after us.

"Come on, Pope!" I shout.

Pope's dad shouts after him, "Don't do this. Don't do this! Where the hell do you think you're goin'?"

"Later, losers!" JJ shouts.


	14. thirteen

We sit in the clearing at Rixon's. The guys get a fire going.

"Hey, guys. So, like, my dad's already gonna kill me. So what's this mandatory meeting about?" Pope asks.

John B points finger guns at me. "Might as well tell him, man, before we're gaffed," I state.

"You ready for this?" John B asks.

"Yeah," Kie answers.

"So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant," John B states.

"Oh, my God. Here we go again with this," Pope remarks.

"No. All right, wait," I say.

"Hear him out, all right?" JJ tells Pope.

"It's been here the whole time. It's on the island," John B informs them.

"Are you serious?" Kie laughs. "Oh, my God."

"I'd like to voice my skepticism," Pope says.

"I'm sure you would, Pope, but can I please present you with my evidence, sir?" John B asks.

Pope gestures with his hand. "Proceed."

John B stands up. "All right. So, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny." He pulls the letter out.

"Who the hell's that?" Kiara asks.

"Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck. Check this out, John B says.

"What?" Kie asks.

John B hands her the letter. "Here you go. Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery. So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom." Kie hands the letter to Pope. "After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll, please, because that farm is..." We all slap our knees. "Tannyhill Plantation."

Kie looks at him surprised. "Tannyhill?"

"Yeah. So, after that, he used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a shit-ton of rice, which pisses off all the white planters, and then they decide to lynch him. So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold," John B explains.

"Where?" Kia asks.

"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water. Except... there's no wheat. You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out." He holds up a picture of british gold next to the letter. "The gold is in parcel nine, near the water."

"Holy shit," Pope says.

"All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we've found the gold," John B states.

"Okay, so this might have a small chance of being actually true," Pope admits.

"Dude, it's like King Tut," Kie states.

"I am a genius," John B states. JJ picks him up. "Hey, whoa! Hello! Fire! You're near the fire. You're gonna burn."

JJ puts him back down. "I'm so proud of you right now."

"Thank you." John B cups JJ faces. "That's really sweet of you."

"Okay, so, guys. What's the plan?" Pope asks.

John B points at him. "Good question. So, Sarah Cameron's coming tonight. She'll bring an original survey map..."

Kie cuts him off, "Wait. Wait. Hold on. Sarah? Wh-why Sarah?"

"Um..." John B starts.

"This is gonna be good," I taunt.

"Sarah, um, she-she got me into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday, and that's where I got the letter," John B explains.

"You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?" Kiara asks.

"Yeah, um..." John B starts.

"He was mackin' on her," JJ states.

"I wasn't macking," John B states.

"You were totally macking Sarah Cameron," JJ argues.

"I wasn't macking on her, okay? I was using her for access," John B says.

"There was access, all right," JJ mutters.

"Did you tell her about the treasure?" Kie asks.

"I was trying to get into the archives," John B reasons.

"Is that a yes?" Kie asks.

"I... I left out key details," John B states.

"Yo, what? You let a Kook in on our secret? What about Pogue Lyfe? What about the T-shirt company, bro?" Kie questions.

"I was just using her for information," John B insists.

Kie gives him a look. "Why don't I believe you?"

"I'm trying to make us filthy rich here. Okay, so that we can pay off a boat, or... or, uh..." John B gestures to Pope, "send you to autopsy school to study dead bodies. Look, you guys know me. Do I look like the type of person to fall for Sarah Cameron?"

"Uh..." I trail off.

"Do you want us to answer that, or..." Pope starts.

John B waves his hand. "Just... just stop."

"Look, you don't know her yet. I do! You can't trust her," Kiara warns.

"Her brother did hit me in the back with a golf club," Pope reminds him.

"Rafe and Sarah are different human beings," John B states.

"What did she do to you, exactly?" JJ asks Kie.

"She's like a... like a spitting cobra. First, she... she blinds you, and then..." Kie starts.

Pope cuts her off, "This is a bad analogy."

"Listen to me!" Kie shouts. "Whatever we get, she's gonna try to take."

We pull up to the Hawk's Nest where we're supposed to be meeting Sarah.

"All right. Hit it, boys! We're goin'. Recon mission," JJ states.

John B turns around to face us. "Yo, uh... so, uh, I think I'm gonna do this one by myself... tonight."

Kie looks annoyed and I don't blame her.

"Really?" I ask.

"What?" John B questions.

I shake my head. "Nothin'."

"I just don't want to spook Sarah with the peanut gallery," John B explains.

"I just don't understand why we're involving her at all," Kie states.

"Kie, we're not involving her, okay?" John B says. Kie makes a face at him. "It's... it's just, uh, like a... a business meeting... thing." He gulps. "Look, once we get what we need, we cut her loose, all right? Plus, we need the map."

"Promise me nothing's happening between you,"Kie demands.

"Nothing is happening, Kie," John B assures.

"I'm being serious," Kie states.

"Okay!" John B says.

"This isn't about you, and this isn't about us. This is about her. Dude, she's gonna get inside your head. Just promise me nothing's happening between you guys," Kie states.

"I promise," John B says.

"That was really believable," JJ taunts.

"A hundred percent believable," Pope says.

"Anyways, um... I'm gonna take care of business," John B states.

JJ shakes his head. "You're gonna take care of it."

"I tell you. We'll just sit here..." Pope starts.

"Yeah." John B gets out of the car.

Pope continues, "...in the hot-ass car. While it's lightning."

John B slams the door and starts to walk away to find Sarah and hopefully the map.

"Kiara, holding onto your grudge is like drinking poison and thinking Sarah will die," Pope warns.

"Exactly," JJ agrees.

JJ starts telling us some story I don't pay much attention to.

"Rafe and Kelce followed me..." JJ starts.

"Wait, do you guys hear that?" I ask. "Sh."

"What?" JJ and Pope ask at the same time.

"Please, somebody help!" Sarah yells.

"Oh, wait, no, I hear that," JJ says.

"Shit," Pope says.

"What the fuck?" Kie questions.

We rush out of the van towards the Hawk's Nest. We see Sarah cradling John B.

"Sarah! What happened?" Pope asks.

"I don't know what to do. He fell. Topper shoved him," Sarah tells us.

"Where the hell is he?" JJ asks.

"Oh, please, please, please get help. I don't care who. Just call someone," Sarah pleads.

I turn to Pope. "Call 911. Go. Go!"

"Help, please," Sarah begs.

"Pope, hurry!" Kie yells.

Sarah cradles John B. "John B, stay with me." She kisses him. "Please don't leave me. John B?"

"Pope! Come on!" JJ shouts.

The ambulance comes and takes John B away. Sarah goes with him. They said he was going to be okay. Worst case scenario a concussion and broken bones.

JJ is pacing around my room. "The next time I see Topper I'm gonna..."

"Stop it!" I shout. JJ stops pacing and stares at me. "I used to only have to worry about your dad beating the shit out of you. Now I have to worry about Topper and Rafe and any other Kook they enlist."

"Storm..." JJ starts.

I shake my head. "No. This is getting dangerous. John B could have died tonight. Topper almost drown him once. They beat Pope with a golf club."

"We can't stop now. Were so close," JJ tells me.

"I know and that's what scares me," I confess.

JJ sits down next to me on the bed. "I promise nothing is going to happen to you, Storm."

"I'm worried about you and that thick skull of yours," I tell him. JJ smiles slightly. "Just promise me that once we get the gold this stops." JJ gives me a look. "Promise me."

"I promise," JJ tells me.

I sigh. "I was serious today, about leaving."

"Where would you go?" JJ asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "Anywhere but here. Somewhere away from my mom. Away from your dad. Away from Kooks that think they can do whatever they want to us."

"When we find that gold were gone," JJ states.

I chuckle. "We?"

JJ nods. "You think I'm gonna let you go by yourself?" I smile as JJ puts his hand on my cheek. "Not a chance." I giggle as JJ leans in and kisses me.


	15. fourteen

There are only three kinds of relationships in the animal kingdom. The first is commensalism. One example... fish finding hiding spots in coral reefs. Fish profit, but life for the coral doesn't change. Then, there's mutualism... a relationship where both animals benefit from each other. The tricky thing about animals is you don't always know what kind of relationship you're in. Which brings me to relationship number three. The parasitic.

After John B gets out of the hospital we meet at Kie's parents restaurant.

"I'm sorry. You're staying where?" Kie asks.

"Tannyhill," John B states.

"So you're living with Sarah Cameron," Kie says.

"Okay, look, the only reason I'm living there is because her dad bailed me out, right? And it's way better than foster care, which, by the way, is where I was about to go if Ward didn't..." John B starts.

Pope cuts him off, "Hey, so do you have a membership to the clubs now?"

John B shakes his head slightly. "I don't know, Pope."

"What about those golf carts they drive around? You get one of them?" JJ asks.

"Does it come with a sweater-vest, or do you have to buy one on your own?" I tease.

"Look, you promised. You said you weren't with her," Kie reminds John B.

"Bro, just own it. She got you," JJ tells him.

"Look, if you wanna hang out with her, that's fine. But I'm letting you know now that I'm not doing anything with Sarah," Kiara says.

"Do you guys see her here?" John B looks around. "No, right. Okay. A little focus would be fantastic. We've got the map, right?"

"It's out of whack 'cause the guy was ganja'd when he drew it," JJ states.

"It's 'cause the coast has changed," I explain. JJ nods his head in realization and I smile slightly.

"So we just have to look for landmarks that haven't changed," Pope explains.

"What about the old forts?" John B offers.

Kie points at the map. "Battery Jasper."

We drive out to the remains of the old fort. JJ and I stand on the old stones looking out into the distance.

Pope stands with the map. "We're in Battery, right here." He points to the map. "So if this is parcel nine, then it's somewhere northeast of here."

Kie points in the distance. "Somewhere there."

"Right," Pope agrees.

JJ points in that direction. "Over there? Guy's, that's not Tannyhill, that's a subdivision."

"Tannyhill Plantation was the entire island. It got sold into smaller pieces over time," John B explains.

"So we're just looking for an old stone wall," Pope tells us.

We drive towards where parcel 9 should be. Pope points out the window. "Okay, so the road should split up here."

John B nods. "Okay."

"All right. You're gonna take a left," Pope instructs.

"That looks like a stone wall to me," JJ offers.

"This is it," Pope tells us.

We get out of the car and stand in front of the house on Parcel 9.

"Not the Crain house," John B states.

"Are you kidding me?" I ask.

"Worst-case scenario," JJ states.

"Why'd it have to be here... of all places?" Pope questions.

"I heard that Mrs. Crain buried her husband's head on the property," JJ tells us.

We start walking through the yard of the Crain house. Kie lading the way. "Look, you guys know whose house this is, right?"

"Oh, yeah. No, I do," JJ assures.

"Honestly, I don't really believe the stories of this place," John B admits.

"Shh," Pope tells him.

"What?" John B asks.

"Which stories did you hear?" JJ asks me.

"The one where she killed her husband with an axe 123 and that she's been holed up ever since. On certain nights, when the moon is full..." I wiggle my fingers in front of JJ's face. "You can see her in the window!"

"No, Storm, it's not funny, 'cause it's all true," JJ states. "I swear to God, guys, this is all real. I knew Hollis." JJ freaks when he sees a statue. "Jeez!"

"Wait, you knew Hollis Crain?" Pope asks.

"Yeah, dude," JJ says.

"Dude, how do you know Hollis Crain?" Pope asks.

"She was my babysitter, man. She told me all about it. Told me the truth... about her mother and what happened in this house. So as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and... she was a murderer and all. Hollis didn't believe it. Until that night," JJ tells us.

"What night?" John B asks.

"It all came back to her. When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in a sink... full of blood. Her mother just says that she cut her finger. The next morning, she says her father and her split up. But then, Hollis noticed something. Her mother going into the parlor constantly, in and out and in and out with plastic bags. Weeks pass, and Hollis decides to use the outhouse. And as she's using it, she looks down, and there, in the outhouse, is her father's head, looking straight back at her," JJ tells us.

"God, you are so full of shit," John B accuses.

"Dude, I swear to God, man," JJ says.

"Did she call the police?" Pope asks.

"She didn't have time," JJ tells us.

"We can't do this..." Pope starts.

John B walks right past us. JJ tries to stop him, "Wait, bro!"

"What?" John B asks.

"You sure you wanna do this? She's an axe murderer. You got a cast on," JJ tells him.

"I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer, okay? I got nothin' to lose, right? You comin' or what?" John B asks.

Kie follows after him. "Come on."

I put my hand on JJ's shoulder. "Come on. I'll protect you," I whisper.

John B whispers, "Hey, come on. Come here. So here's the plan. We need to look for the wheat near the water like it said in Denmark's letter."

"Okay, like, what kind of water? Like, pond water?" Pope asks.

JJ chuckles. "Bong water?" We all give him a look.

"No. It... it just said look for water, okay?" John B tells us.

"That's the shittiest secret message ever," Kie remarks.

"You wanna complain a little more, Kie? Nobody said it was gonna be easy," John B says. He and Kie go off in one direction.

Pope turns to JJ and I. "I'll search the northeast quadrant, you two search the northwest."

"The decapitation quadrant," JJ protests.

We look around the yard till John B stops beside the house. "Hey, psst! Hey, come on. It's the only place we haven't looked."

JJ nearly trips over a root as he walks towards the house. "Oh shit..." I shake my head at him.

"Here we go." John B enters the crawl space under the house.

We all follow after him one at a time. There's all kinds of stuff everywhere. It's all old and falling apart.

JJ starts to sing, "Down came Mrs. Crain And cut off all our heads Up came the sun And dried up all the blood."

"Can you stop?" Pope tells him.

"See any water?" Kie asks.

I swat at the mosquitos buzzing around. "Another dead end?" I state.

"There's not even water on the pipes," JJ tells us.

"There's no water here," Pope says.

"Not a dropamino," JJ states.

"Know why we didn't find it? Bad karma," Kie offers.

John B groans. "Oh, God. Here we go."

"You know, we had a good thing going. And then you decide to rope in Barbie, and now the trail's gone dry. Coincidence? Probably not," Kie accusses.

"This is exactly why I didn't wanna tell you about Sarah," John B eplains.

"Yeah?" Kie asks.

John B nods. "Yeah. What the hell's the deal with you two?"

"Nothing," Kie insists.

"Nothing? Is it because I kissed you? Is that the problem?" John B asks.

Kie saps him across the face.

I laugh. "Oh!"

"Oh shit!" JJ taunts.

"That echoed, dude!" Pope says.

"Stop treating me like I'm some girl that's obsessed with you instead of your best friend who's actually trying to look out for you," Kie demands.

"Did you, uh... hit me?" John B asks.

Kie holds up her hand. "Skeeter."

"Skeeter?" John B asks.

"Yeah, you see it?" Kie remarks.

"Yeah." John B slaps Kie on the cheek.

"Oh, hey!" JJ says.

"Okay..." I start.

"Where's your proof?" Kie asks.

John B holds his hand up. "Skeeter."

"Yeah? There was probably one right there," Kie says as she hits John B.

John B slaps Kie's arm. "There's one right there."

"Really? You saw that?" Kie asks.

John B hits Kie on the forehead. "On your forehead."

"You're dead. That's it. Today's the day that you die," Kie tells him as she pushes him away.

Pope keeps swatting mosquitoes. "Jesus."

"Today's your funeral," Kie warns. John B hits her again. "One bandito."

I swat the mosquitoes out of my face. "These things are a freakin' swarm!"

"You see this?" Kie asks.

"Hey, sh! Keep it down," JJ warns.

"You know how this ends," John B tells Kiara.

"Why are there so many mosquitoes in a basement?" Pope asks.

"Dude. I know, seriously. Tiny vampire bats, just leave me alone," JJ remarks.

I swat another mosquito out of my face. "Oh, my gosh! Okay, can we leave? 'Cause I'm already itchin' to leave."

"Hah? Punny," John B says. Kie hits him again and he groans. "All right... Ow!"

JJ picks up a creepy doll. "I just found Mrs. Crain's voodoo doll, guys."

I giggle. "Oh shit."

"All right, can we leave this? 'Cause this is getting..." JJ trails off.

Kie hits John B again. "Skeeter, for real."

"Hey, guys." Pope starts to bang things around.

"Hey, Pope!" I tell him.

"Sh!" Kie warns.

"Hey. Help me move this. Help me move this," Pope says.

"Okay, just... quiet," John B tells him.

We start to pick the things up from the floor. Moving them out of Pope's way.

"Guys! Guys!" Kie warns.

"Guys. I know. Yeah. Yeah. Sh, sh," Pope says.

"She's probably right upstairs," I warn.

We pick up one of the floorboards and under it is a well. We all stare down into it.

"Well, well, well," Pope comments.

"That was a good dad joke," John B admits.

"They built this part of the house right over it," I state.

"This is where she hid the bodies," JJ says.

Pope punches him in the arm. "Oh, dude, come on."

"Stop," Kie tells him.

"No, I'm dead serious," JJ argues.

"Stop it!" Kie tells him.

"It was never an outhouse," JJ says.

"She probably doesn't even know it's here," I tell him.

"So... we found water," Pope states.

"We're gonna need a really big rope," John B offers.


	16. fifteen

We sit on John B's back porch waiting for Kie. It's going to be interesting when she shows up because John B brought Sarah Cameron with him. I'm the only one that knows what happened between the two and John B is a dick for bringing her here.

Kie storms through the door. "No effing way! You brought her here? So what? She's in on this now?"

John B looks to Pope. Pope shrugs his shoulders. "I dunno."

"Look, all I care about is her cut comes out of your share," JJ tells John B.

John B looks at me. I don't respond, I just give him a look letting him know I'm on Kie's side.

"You know, I don't remember taking a vote. This is our thing. A Pogue thing," Kie argues.

"I gotta say, I'm just a tad uncomfortable with all of this," Pope admits.

"Thank you," Kie says.

"When are you not uncomfortable?" John B asks.

Pope shrugs his shoulders. "I dunno. I rode here on the back of JJ's bike pretty comfortably."

"It's true. Most relaxed I've ever seen him," JJ adds.

"That's cute, guys," John B taunts.

"You know we were all extremely comfortable until you brought her," Kie argues.

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Sarah yells.

"Then leave," Kie offers.

Sarah scoffs. "I told you."

"Told him what, exactly? That you're a liar?" Kie asks.

"No, that you're a shit-talking bitch," Sarah states.

"Oh shit!" Pope says.

"When have I lied?" Sarah asks.

"My money's on Kie," JJ says.

"You get somebody close to you..." Kie starts.

"I didn't lie about shit," Sarah insists.

"Everybody shut up!" John B shouts. "Kie, you are my best friend, right?" John B looks at Sarah. "And Sarah, you're... you're my..."

"Say it," Sarah tells him.

"You're my girlfriend," John B states.

"Ohh... that's new," Pope remarks.

"She's your girlfriend now? What was all that talk about you were just using her for information? Get a map, cut her loose," Kie reminds him.

"You said you were using me?" Sarah asks.

"No," John B says.

"Yeah, you did," Pope states.

"You said those things," I remind him.

"Look, love just walked in, okay?" John B tells us.

Kie looks away from him. "Oh, vomit."

"I didn't expect it. It just... it kind of happened. And I'm not gonna deny it. Right?" John B tells us.

"Oh! That's corny," Pope whispers.

"Look, cut the bullshit, John B. If she's in, I'm out," Kie tells him.

"I'm not doing this. I can't!" John B insists.

"You are gonna decide. I'm very interested, actually. Me or her?" Kie asks.

"Both," John B answers.

JJ whistle. "Went for the Hail Mary."

"Noooo!" Pope says.

Kie walks out the door. JJ and Pope sit there awkwardly not knowing what to do.

Sarah forces a smile. "It'll be cool, right?" She stands up. "I'm gonna leave."

"Sarah, don't," John B tells her.

"Gonna let y'all chat. Let me know,' Sarah says before leaving.

"I'd just like to say, you handled that beautifully," JJ taunts.

I stand up. "You're a dick, John B."

I head inside looking for beer. I sit on the counter as I open the bottle. JJ walks in and takes it from my hand. "Hey!"

JJ laughs before taking a sip and handing it back to me. "Do you know what Kie's problem is with Sarah?"

I nod my head. "I've heard all about it."

"And?" JJ asks.

"And it's none of your business until Kie decides to tell you," I state.

"We're dead in the water if those two don't make up," JJ tells me.

I shake my head. "No were dead in the water cause John B can't make the right decision."

"Maybe it's not that easy," JJ offers.

I narrow my eyes. "A girl he barely knows or Kie. I think it's a pretty easy choice."

"He's in love with her," JJ states.

I shrug my shoulders. "And?"

"Love makes people do stupid things," JJ tells me.

"How would you know that, JJ?" I ask.

"Cause I've done plenty of stupid things for you," JJ states.

I look at him surprised. "What?"

"I love you, Storm. I think I've loved you since the day we met." I look at JJ surprised by his confession. "And you're not saying anything. Oh god I shouldn't..."

JJ turns to leave and I grab his shirt. "I love you too."

JJ smiles as he leans in to kiss me. I wrap my arms around his neck as he places his hands on my waist.

I jump when I hear John B. "What the fuck?"

JJ turns around and smiles at John B. "What's up?"

"What's up?" John B asks. "What's up is you two making out in my kitchen."

"I think you should be more concerned with what you and Kiara are doing than what JJ and I are doing," I offer.

"Kiara and I aren't doing anything," John B counters.

"Maybe that's the issue. You picked a Kook over your best friend," I tell him.

"I didn't choose anyone," John B reminds me.

"Yeah and you not choosing speaks volumes," I tell him.

Pope walks in the room distracting John B. "What'd she say?"

"That you're an idiot," Pope says.

"It's a no-brainer. You're picking Kie," I tell John B.

"Look, I can't make a decision," John B tells me.

"So what? We're just dead in the water?" JJ asks.

"We can't do this without Kie, and you know it," I tell John B.

"And I can't do it without Sarah. Okay? They both have to be in on it," John B insists.

"Okay. Well, good luck with that," Pope remarks.

"You know what? I know this was my fault, all right? But it's our problem. I've got a plan. And you two shitheads are gonna help me out,"John B states.

I raise my hand. "And what about me?"

"Not needed," John B states.

I scoff. "I'm sure this plan is gonna work out great."


	17. sixteen

Kie and I are at the dock waiting for Pope to show up. He said it was some kind of emergency. He pulls up in the Pogue.

"Code red!" Pope shouts.

"What the hell is going on?" Kie asks.

"Okay, JJ and John B conked out in the marsh. They need a tow," Pope explains.

I step in the boat. "Uh, okay, well, what does that have to do with us?"

"We need you for mechanical," Pope reasons.

I nod my head. "Mechanical."

We head out to the marsh where they're stuck.

"John B and JJ are up in the Alp," Pope tells us.

"Can't you guys do anything without me?" Kie questions.

Kie and I get on the boat and find JJ and John B over the engine.

"What happened?" I ask.

"Uh, the alternator's, uh, not alternating anymore," JJ tells me.

"It's not charged," John B states.

"Did you check the plugs?" Kie asks.

"No. No, you should check 'em," JJ says as he hands the screwdriver to Kie.

"Give it a whirl," John B tells her.

"You guys are useless," I tell them. Kie and I both bend down to look at the spark plugs.

"Sorry about that," John B says.

"Uh... is this a joke?" Kie asks.

"There are no plugs, like, at all," I say.

I hear a splash and run out to the back of the boat. "Shit."

Kie stops when she hears bounding on the hold. "John B, let me out! John B!" Sarah shouts. Kie lets her out. "What? Wait."

I shout at the guys. "Are you serious!"

"Are you joking?" Kie asks.

"Get your asses back here!" I yell.

"We can't. Not till those two figure it out," John B tells us.

"I will kill every single one of you!" Kie threatens.

"Y-You can't just leave!" Sarah shouts.

"What did I do to deserve this?" I ask.

John B chuckles. "You know what you did."

"There's food in the cabin, and JJ rolled a blunt," Pope tells us.

"Hydroponic!" JJ shouts.

"JJ I am going to beat the crap out of you!" I threaten.

"Love you to!" JJ sohuts back.

"This is ridiculous," Sarah says as he starts to take her clothes off.

"Well, I would rather drown than stay here with you, so..." Kie trails off as she takes her shirt off.

"Fine, be my guest. Maybe you'll finally shut the hell up," Sarah remarks.

"You don't even know where you're going," I tell her.

"I don't care," Sarah says before jumping onto the water.

"Good luck with the oyster beds," Kie tells her.

"Wait!" Sarah shouts.

The boys start to leave. "Godspeed!"

"Wait! John B, you asshole!" Sarah shouts.

"They're not coming back for you!" Kie shouts.

"Love you, guys! Bye!" John B shouts.

I sigh. "Great."

Sarah squeels before dipping under the surface.

"What?" Kie asks.

"I got stung by a jellyfish! Shit!" Sarah yells.

"Dramatic," Kiara muters.

Sarah sobs as she pulls herself up onto the ladder. "Shit."

"Well, you swam right into a man-o'-war. Don't know what you thought would happen," Kie remarks.

Sarah pulls herself into the boat. "Thanks for your help." She gasps as she sits down on the deck. "Shit. Ow!"

"Does it hurt?" Kie asks.

"Hey, Kiara. You know what they say..." Sarah starts.

"No. Mm-mm," Kie says.

"...about curing jellyfish stings? You have to pee on me," Sarah states.

"I have a better idea," Kie offers. Kie gets the blunt that JJ rolled. "It's for the pain."

"JJ, bless, Sarah says.

Kie lights the blunt and takes a hit before going to hand it to Sarah. She pulls it back before Sarah can take it. "Actually... "

"Really?" Sarah asks. She grabs the blunt.

"Go easy," Kie warns.

"It's JJ's cousin's Cripple," I tell her.

Sarah starts coughing and doesn't stop for a minute. I give Kie a look while I grab the blunt.

"Storm, what did John B mean when he said 'You know what you did.'?" Kie asks.

I play dumb. "I don't know."

Kie gives me a look. "You do too. What happened?"

"Okay you can't get mad," I tell her.

"Why would I get mad?" Kie asks.

"Because John B walked in on JJ and I making out the other day," I explain.

"What?" Kie asks.

"See now you're getting mad," I tell her.

"You know the rules. No Pogue-on-Pogue macking," Kie reminds me.

"Your the one who came up with that stupid rule, Kiara," I protest. "I never wanted it in the first place."

"It doesn't matter, it's still a rule," Kie tells me.

"We're Pogues. All we do is break the rules," I reason.

Kie sighs. "Are you and JJ like together?"

I nod my head. "Yeah."

Sarah looks surprised. "Wait you didn't know?"

"How did you know?" I ask.

"I thought everyone knew," Sarah tells me.

I look at her confused. "What? Why?" I ask.

"All summer I've seen you and JJ around town acting like a couple, holding hands and stuff. If you ask me you two are pretty cute together," Sarah offers.

"No one asked you," Kie tells her. Kie turns back to me. "Why would you do this?"

"Kiara I can't help how I feel about JJ. You of all people should know that. It's always been JJ and I. No matter what happens JJ and I have always been by each others sides," I tell her

Kie laughs slightly. "J-Storm."

I smile. "Exactly. I really don't want this to cause any problems."

Kie nods her head. "Do you love him?"

I can feel myself blush. "Call me crazy but I think I've always loved him."

Kie nods her head. "I can't believe I didn't realize. You two have been all over after lately. Well more than usual."

It's already dark out and Kie and Sarah still haven't talked about their issues. Sarah is pretty high thought.

She hasn't stopped laughing for a good five mintes. "Wow." She turns to Kie. "Would you rather... have... I was imagining you like this just now. It was pretty funny. Would you ima... would you rather... have nipples for eyes or eyes for nipples? Imagine if you get really old and your nipples... Your boobs get saggy, and your nipples, if they were your eyes, you could see if your shoes were untied." Sarah laughs.

"Is this like your first time smoking or something?" Kie asks.

"No," Sarah says. I roll my eyes. "Hey, Kiara..."

"Oh, my God. Enough of the 'Hey, Kiara!' bullshit! Why'd you do it?" Kie asks.

Sarah looks confused. "Why did I do what?"

"We were best friends. We... we stole beers from your dad's fridge, we watched movies together, we cried about boys. And the next thing I know, I'm watching your birthday party happen from Instagram," Kie tells her.

"It was one party," Sarah states.

"You invited everybody except me. And then you told everybody I was the reason that the party got busted," Kie reminds her.

"Okay, well, who else would've called the cops?" Sarah asks.

"You never asked. You just let the rumor go that I was a rat. You were my best friend, and then you ghosted me, and I don't even know why! I mean, really, what did I do?" Kiara asks.

"You liked me," Sarah states.

Kie looks at her confused. "What?"

"When... people get... close to me, I feel trapped. And... I bail. And then I blame them for it. I'm really sorry..." Sarah takes a deep breath, "...and I miss you. Do you think there's a chance that we could be okay again?"

"Honestly... I don't know," Kie confesses.

We lie down on the deck trying to sleep. Kie breaks th esilcence, "Hey, Sarah."

"Hey, Kiara," Sarah replies.

"Promise me that you won't bail on John B. He's not just... some other guy. And he really, really likes you," Kie tells her.

"I won't," Sarah assures.

"Promise me," Kie insists.

"I promise," Sarah says.

"Also, I'm sorry I called the cops," Kie confesses.

"I knew it," Sarah says.

Kie laughs. "It was Storm's idea."

"I knew it, you bitch!" Sarah laughs. "I told you!"

"You... you should've invited Kie," I tell Sarah.

"So you called the cops?" Sarah reasons.

"Yes!" Kie laughs.

In the morning we sit on the edge of the boat waiting for the guys to come back.

"Uh-oh!" Pope shouts. "You forget your keys or something?"

"You guys need a tow?" John B asks.

"Don't give them the satisfaction of thinking this worked," Kie instructs.

"Absolutely not," Sarah agrees.

"You gotta admit it was kinda funny," John B says.

"John B," Kie starts.

"Uh, what's that?" John B asks.

"Mastermind, huh?" I tease.

"I'm always plannin'," John B says.

"Some patriarchal bullshit," Kie states as she stands up.

"Yeah, that sucked," Sarah agrees.

"You still love us though, right?" JJ asks. JJ throws a rope at me. "Here."

"Yeah, whatever," Sarah says.

"Hey, you still hate me?" John B asks.

"A little. We're gonna get you back when you least expect it," Sarah states.

"I'd watch your back, boys," I warn.

"Well I for one welcome that challenge," Pope states.

JJ smiles. "Me too."

"So, did you guys, you know..." Pope starts.

"Reconcile our differences?" Kie finishes.

Sarah shakes her head. "Mm-mm."

"Not even close," Kie states.

"But we're... willing to work together," Sarah tells them.

"You know what? That's victory," John B says as he high fives JJ.

"Yep," JJ agrees.

"Wiggedy-wiggedy-wiggedy!" Pope says as him and JJ high five.

"You know what it was huys? Hydroponic," JJ states.

"Don't say that," Pope tells him.

"All right, shut up. You guys ready to jack some loot?" John B asks.

"Yeah, whatever," Kie says as she hops in the boat.

"Yep," Sarah agrees.

"In the boat," John B says.

I hop in the boat next to JJ. "Let's get it." JJ says as he wraps his arm around me.

I lean in and whisper in his ear, "You're gonna regret that."

JJ gives me a look. "Am I?"

I laugh slightly. "Just wait."


	18. seventeen

Tonight's the night we find the gold. Were all piled into John B's van headed for the Crain house.

"You got rope?" John B asks.

"Got it," Pope states.

"Grappling hook?" John B asks.

"We don't have a grappling hook. We're not Batman," Pope tells him.

"Pulley?" John B asks.

"Check," Kie tells him.

"Dark Clothes?" John B asks.

"Got it," Sarah tells him.

"Flashlights?" John B asks.

"Check," JJ replies.

"All right, good. We're ready," John B states.

"Lets go," Kie says.

"Let's go get rich, guys," JJ offers.

"Yeah. Hell, yeah," I agree.

"Go, boys," Sarah says.

"And girls," Kie adds.

John B opens the side door to the van.

"Let's go," Pope says.

"Let's roll," JJ states.

"Right on," I say.

We start to get out of the van but John B stops us, "Wait, wait. I wanna say thank you, guys. Seriously. It means a lot to me that you're here tonight."

"Always," Kie tells him.

"Of course, man," Pope says.

He and John B do their handshake. "My man."

"All right, we done with the circle jerk? Can we go do this?" JJ asks.

"Yep," I say.

"Let's get that wheat in the water," Pope says.

"Weed? I'm up for weed," JJ says.

"Wheat. I said wheat," Pope tells him.

"After you," Kie tells Sarah.

Sarah starts to climb the stone wall. "Ladies first."

"Alley-oop," I tell her.

We walk through the yard the same way we did the other day. We stop in front of the house and a porch light comes one.

"Shit!" I say.

"Oh, shit! Go, go, go, go," John B says.

We all hide behind the bushes.

"Flashlights!" Kie warns.

"It's on strobe!" JJ says before getting his flashlight to switch off.

John B holds his finger to his mouth. "Shh!"

"Okay... Okay, so she has motion sensor lights," Pope states.

"We could, uh... move really slowly, maybe?" JJ offers.

"What?" Sarah asks.

"Yeah that's not how it works," Pope explains.

"Oh, shit. Let's throw a rock at it," John B offers.

"What?" I ask.

"That's a really good idea. Let the axe murderer know that we're here," Kie taunts.

"Throw a rock at it?" Pope questions.

"Okay you guys have a better idea?" John B asks.

"Literally anything but that," Kie counters.

"What about the breaker? In the circuit box on the porch. We used to play hide-and-seek here as kids. And if we were brave enough, we'd go all the way up to the porch. I've seen it," Sarah tells us.

"No, no. You're not going in the house alone," John B protests.

"Watch me," Sarah challenges.

"Crain chops people into pieces," JJ states.

"If you believe that, but she's like what, 85?" Sarah offers.

"Yeah, somethin' like that," JJ agrees.

"She's probably barely still kicking," Sarah reasons.

"Here. I'll go with you," Kie offers.

Sarah nods. "Yeah."

"We'll wait for your signal," I tell them.

"Okay, cool," Sarah says.

"Hey! Be safe," John B tells her.

"We will," Sarah assures.

JJ grabs Pope's face. "Hey. Be safe."

"I'll be so safe." Pope grabs JJ. "I'll be safe for you."

"Can you guys stop? Stop!" John B tells them. "I'm gonna kill you."

"But how would that keep us safe?" Pope taunts.

"They said when Hollis disappeared that..." JJ starts.

"That you should shut the eff up!" Pope tells him.

JJ whistles as I put my hand on his back. We wait for the light to go out and it's only a few minutes before it does.

"They did it. Go time," John B states.

"So, let's do it," I tell him.

John B holds up his fingers. "Three, two..." JJ and I get up. "Just... just... just go."

We head into the basement the same way we did last time.

"Holy crap, you know what this is? It just hit me. Storm, look." JJ hands Pope one end of the rope. "This is C.H.U.D. Full C.H.U.D."

"What is he talking about?" John B asks.

"Cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers?" JJ states. John B just looks at him. "Have you guys not seen that film?"

"No," John B replies.

"Can't say I have, no," Pope tells him.

"You're lucky," I tell them.

"It's actually a good film," JJ states. I roll my eyes. "It's about cannibals that live in the sewers and under New York City, and it's like..."

"Shut up! Shut up!" John B tells him. "All right. How deep do you think this is, Pope?"

Pope sighs. "I don't know."

We set up the rig and JJ and Pope start to slowly lower John B into the well.

"Hey, boys. I have one request," John B states.

"Yeah?" Pope and JJ ask in unison.

"Don't drop me," John B states.

They pretend to drop him. "Whoa!" JJ says.

"Okay... You're gonna die first, for sure," John B threatens.

"Got ya," JJ tells him.

"All right, just keep payin' it out nice and slow like that," Pope instructs.

"Here we go. Keep goin'," John B says.

JJ and Pope grunt as they hold onto the ropes.

"Keep goin'," John B tells them.

"Wait, hold on one second. I'm gonna get situated," JJ says.

"You good?" I ask him.

Suddenly JJ slips. "Oh, my..." The ropes start to slip and John B starts to fall.

"Oh, shit! John, shit!" Pope shouts.

"Whoa! What..." John B starts.

Pope grabs a hold of the rope and stops John B from falling.

"Jesus!" JJ shouts.

I grab a hold of the rope helping them out.

"John B!" JJ says.

"I told you not to drop me!" John B shouts.

"You good, man?" I ask.

"What the hell was that?" John B asks.

"Little technical difficulties," Pope tells him.

"Keep going, slow!" John B instructs.

"Okay, we're gonna start paying you out again, all right?" Pope tells him.

"Okay. Okay. All right, keep goin'." John B grunts. "All right. Keep it comin'."

JJ and Pope groan as they keep lowering John B.

"Hey. Hey, we got 15 feet left. Are you getting close to the bottom?" I ask John B.

"I can't tell," John B replies. "Just... just keep goin'."

Pope turns to JJ. "Give me more."

JJ grunts. "Yeah."

"Whoa! Stop!" John B shouts. "I'm hangin' over some sewage-water lookin' shit."

"You want back up?" Pope asks.

"Keep goin', I guess..." John B tells us.

"Nice and slow," JJ states.

"Okay, okay! I'm at bottom," John B tells us.

"How is it down there?" Pope asks.

"It's worse than I thought," John B confesses.

"You find any gold?" JJ asks.

"Uh, nothin' yet," John B replies. JJ and I look at eachother unsure if this is going to work. "Wait. I think I felt something with my foot. Here goes nothin'."

I hear the water splashing and I can only imagine what is down there.

"JJ! Hey, pull me up! Pull me up! Come on, man! Go!" John B shouts.

"Pull him up! Come on, pull him up!" Pope shouts.

"Go! Come on! Pull me up! Come on! Pull me up! Pull me up! Come on!" John B shouts.

JJ and Pope start pulling on the rope bringing him up.

I hear rocks tumbling and then John B, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Wait! Hey, I think I found something."

"Hey, John B!" JJ says.

"What'd you say?" I ask.

"Just give me a minute. Hold on," John B tells us.

"John B, you okay?" I ask.

"Any dead bodies?" Pope questions. I give him a look.

Suddenly Sarah and Kie come running into the basement. "Guys!"

"Whoa. What's going on?" Pope asks.

"Mrs. Crain! She's up there!" Sarah shouts.

"She tried to kill us with a fire poker," Kie tells us. "We gotta get the fuck out of here."

"We locked her in the parlor, but we gotta go," Sarah warns.

"Okay, code red," JJ states.

"We have to go!" Sarah shouts.

"Let's go. John B! Get back on, man!" JJ shouts.

"JJ! Hold on, man! I'm comin'!" John B tells us.

"Come on!" Sarah yells.

"Three, two, one, pull!" Pope instructs.

We all pull on the rope trying to get John B up. Suddenly we all go flying backwards.

"Where the hell is he?" I ask.

"John B!" JJ shouts.

"Guys. Sh!" Kie tells us.

"Guys, I found the gold!" John B yells.

"What's he saying?" JJ asks.

"JJ! Pope! Kie! Storm!" John B shouts.

"Yo, he's drowning! We gotta pull him up!" Kie says.

"Hey, John B! Get back on the rope. We're gonna pull you back up, okay, buddy?" Pope tells him.

"Come on!" Kie shouts.

"Come on! Pull!" Sarah shouts.

"Come on!" I yell.

"Okay, everybody, help!" JJ says.

"Okay, I'm on!" John B tells us.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Sarah says.

"Let's go," Pope instructs.

We all start pulling on the rope again. This time John B comes with it.

"Come on!" Pope shouts.

Suddenly a gunshot goes off.

"Shit!" Kie screams.

"Jesus!" JJ shouts.

"Pope! JJ! What the hell?" John B asks.

"Climb up! Help me! Hang on!" JJ shouts.

Pope groans. "Tie it up now, man!"

"Pope, hide!" I tell him.

Mrs. Crain is walking around with a shotgun. Ready to kill us all.

"She can't aim for shit," Kie states.

"She can't see. She's blind," Sarah states.

She shots again and Kie screams, "Shit! Go! Go, Sarah!"

She fires again. Pope, JJ, and I stumble to our feet.

"Go! Go!" I shout.

"I don't care if she is, that's buckshot!" JJ yells.

We rush out of the house and I hear another gun shoot. We rush to the van.

"Can we go now?" JJ asks.

"Get into the car!" Sarah shouts.

"Come on!" I yell.

JJ gets in the driver's seat and I get in the passengers seat. Everyone else piles in the back.

"Where is he?" Kie asks.

"Come on, start the car. Go!" Pope shouts.

"John B!" Kie shouts.

"Why are we always getting shot at?" Pope asks.

"Come on! John B, run!" Kie yells at him.

"Come on! Come on!" Sarah shouts.

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Pope yells as John B runs to the van.

"Get in!" Kie shouts.

John B jumps into the back of the van covered in god only knows what.

"Oh, shit!" Kie says.

"Oh, my God!" Pope yells.

"JJ, drive!" Sarah shots.

"Go, JJ!" I yell.

JJ looks back at John B and laughs. "Oh, my God!"

I rest my head back in the seat. "God!"

"Are you okay? Are you shot?" JJ asks.

"No," John B tells him.

"You good?" Kie asks.

"Yeah, yeah," John B assures.

"I think I'd know if I was shot, right?" Kie asks.

I turn around and look at John B. "You look disgusting."

"God, you smell like ass," I tell him.

"What the hell just happened?" Sarah asks.

"All-time Pogue Hall of Fame, baby," JJ comments.

"Hell, yeah." I lean over and kiss him.

"That bitch is possessed," Kie states.

"That bitch can't aim," Sarah adds.

"How does she move that fast?" Pope asks.

"She's possessed," Kie states.

"I don't get it," Pope says.

"She's blind," Kie explains.

"Like Master Yoda," JJ states.

"It makes no sense, scientifically," Pope states.

"She does yoga. Pilates," Kie offers. "What is that?"

I see what looks like gold in John B's hand.

"No, you didn't!" Sarah shouts.

"We did it, baby!" John B yells.

"No, you didn't!" Sarah says.

"I did it!" John B shouts.

"Oh, my God!" JJ yells.

We all scream in excitement. We found what people have been looking for, for a hundred years. A bunch of high schoolers found the gold from the wreck of the Merchant.

"That's gold!" JJ shouts as he pounds the roof of the van.

"Wait! Wait!" Kie yells.

"Holy shit!" John B shouts.

"You guys, we're gonna be rich," Kie yells.

"Full Kook!" John B shouts.

We all start chanting, "Full Kook! Full Kook! Full Kook! Full Kook! Full Kook! Full Kook!"


	19. eighteen

The plans are being laid for finding the gold. Kie, Sarah, and I are sitting in John B's van looking at the sketch.

"He said it looked something like this," Kie states.

"So..." Sarah trails off.

I point to the drawing. "That's 50 feet down, and they're using 100-feet rope. So I guess this little wagon will go..." Sarah laughs. "...straight to the gold room."

"Who drew this?" Sarah asks.

Kie laughs. "Who do you think?"

We laugh as we watch Pope and John B gettin the wench ready.

JJ comes out of the house. "Kie! This better work." JJ drops the gold in the van. "We can't pawn this if there's a giant wheat symbol on it."

Kie picks up a blow torch. "It's gonna work."

We watch as Kie uses the blowtorch to melt down the gold. I smile at JJ as he wraps his arm around me.

Once it's all melted we head to the pawn shop in town.

"Hell of a job melting it down, Dr. Frankenstein," JJ teases.

"Like you could've done better," Kiara states.

"I could have done much better. I took a welding class," JJ counters.

John B steps between Kie and JJ. "Whoa, whoa. Hey. Sh! Chill out, okay?"

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one that has to pawn this piece of shit off," I tell him.

"How did we get this job anyway?" JJ asks.

"'Cause you two are the best liars," Pope tells us.

We walk into the shop and the bell above the door rings. JJ smiles at the older woman at the counter. "Afternoon, ma'am."

"Afternoon," she greets.

"I see you buy gold," I say.

"That's what the sign say, don't it?" the woman remarks.

"Well, I sure hope you buy a lot of it, because I'm about to blow your mind," JJ tells her.

"I ain't got much mind left to blow, so have at it," the woman tells us.

JJ takes the gold out of his backpack and plops it down on the counter. "How about them gold apples?"

The woman chuckles. "That ain't real."

"That aint real?" I ask.

The woman shakes her head. "It can't be."

"Feel how heavy it is," JJ tells her. "Mm-hm. Mm-hm!" The woman picks up the gold. "Let's get some light on that." JJ puts a lamp over the gold.

"Spray-painted tungsten," the woman states.

"Spray-painted tungsten? Really? Okay. Why don't you see how, uh, soft it is?" JJ offers.

"You mind?" the woman asks.

I shake my head. "No, go for it."

The woman hits the gold and it doesn't break.

"Wow. Would you look at that?" JJ says.

"Hold your horses. We ain't got to the acid test yet," the woman tells us.

"Ooh! The acid test." JJ looks around at our friends. "My favorite, guys."

"Well, it ain't plated, and it ain't painted," the woman states.

"Ma'am, I'm telling ya, this is as real as the day is long," I assure her.

"It looks like somebody tried to melt it down," the woman says.

"My mom. She had all this jewelry laying around the house, and she thought it was best to... to melt it down. To 'consolidate' it," JJ explains.

"Seven pounds? That's a lot of earrings," the woman comments.

"Okay, to be honest, ma'am," JJ clears his throat, "...it's really hard to see my mom fall apart with Alzheimer's."

The woman gives him a look. "Mm-hm. -Alzheimer's? Give me a minute." The woman starts to walk to the back.

I put my hand on JJ's shoulder. "Take your time, ma'am."

After a minute the woman comes back out. "So, I, uh..." she clears her throat. "I talked to my boss."

"And?" JJ asks.

"And, uh, this is what I can do." The woman hands a slip of paper to JJ.

"Fifty thousand? You think I walked in here not knowin' the spot price? Ma'am, I know for a fact this is worth 140, at least," JJ tells her.

"Well, sweetie, you in a pawnshop. This ain't Zurich. Do I look Swiss to you?" the woman remarks.

"Ninety, or I walk," I tell her.

"Seventy. Half price... and, um... I don't ask questions about where you got this," the woman offers.

I look at John B and he gives me the signal. "I'm gonna need that in large denominations, please."

"Well, here's the snag. I don't have that much denominated, not here anyway. I can write you a cashier's check," the woman offers.

"Cash... No, ma'am. I want the cold hard. That's what that sign says. Cash for gold. And that's what I expect. I'm gonna get it in cold hard," JJ tells her.

"Well, I have to send you to the warehouse. I have the money there. Is that all right?" the woman asks.

"Where's this warehouse?" I question.

We agree and get back into John B's van. We start driving to the address the woman gave us.

"So they keep money out here?" Pope asks.

"That's what she said." JJ chuckles. "That's what she said."

"Stop," Pope tells him.

"I've never even heard of Resurrection Drive," Sarah states.

"It's 'cause you're rich," JJ offers.

"You've never heard of it either," Kie tells him.

"Thank you," Sarah says.

"There's nothing but weeds back here," Kiara comments.

"All right, just 'cause it's just weeds, doesn't mean it's, like..." JJ trails off.

I hear sirens behind us. "Cops? Out here?"

"God! Are you kidding me?" JJ yells.

"What did we do?" Sarah asks.

"Why are we getting pulled over?" Pope asks.

JJ fumbles with the gold in his backpack.

"Stash that," I tell him.

"Chill, guys," Kie tells us.

Pope points to the seat. "Put it..."

"I hate cops," JJ states.

"Did you bring the gun?" John B asks.

"No. Okay? Everybody told me to leave it back at the place," JJ tells us.

"Thank God," I state.

"Please, everything else in your bag," Kie instructs.

"I am! I am, all right?" JJ assures.

"How much weed do you have on you, JJ?" I ask.

"He's walking up," Pope warns.

JJ throws his backpack in the compartment under his seat.

"Nothing better to do..." John B starts.

A guy with a bandana around the lower half of his face cocks a gun and points it at John B. "Why don't I go ahead and see them hands in the air? All y'all's hands up in the air now!" We listen to him. "You, out of the car! Let's go! Out of the car! Let's go! Hurry!" John B gets out of the car with his hands in the air. "Let them out! What are you waitin' on? What are you waitin' on? Let them out! All y'all!" John B opens the back door. "Go on! Go on! Let's get out the car! Let's go! There you go, pretty girl. Here we go!" Sarah gets out. "Get out the car, let's go! Hurry up! There you go!" We all get out of the van one at a time.

"We're broke..." JJ starts.

The guy cuts him off, "Shut the hell up!"

"All right! Just relax!" JJ tells him.

THe guy points the gun at JJ. "Shut the hell up! Shut up!"

"Chill!" JJ shouts.

"Blow your damn head off! Lay down in the ditch! Lay down in the ditch! On your goddamn hands and knees! Down!" We do as he says. "Put your face on the ground! Stay here just like that! Put your head down! Don't let me see you look up! All right? That's all y'all gotta do." The guy starts going through the van.

"It's a setup, guys," Kie states.

"That old bat shanked us." JJ hits the ground with his fist. "Fuck! Goddamn it!"

"Wait. No, no, no, no,' Sarah says. John B stats to get up. "John B... No..."

"John B. Don't be a hero, man," Pope tells him.

"Shh," John B says.

John B runs to the car as the guy finds the gold. The guy gets out of the van. "All right, y'all stay like that. Unless you want your brains blown out all over this road, don't move your goddamn heads, okay?"

The guy gets back into this car and John B hits him from the backseat. "Guys, I got the gun!" John B shouts.

JJ takes off running towards him. JJ punches the guy before he throws him to the ground. I hit the guy in the face before he knocks me over. John B hits him with the but of the gun.

"I got the gold!" Pope shouts.

Sarah hits the guy in the head with the car door while Kie kicks him. Pope gives him a kick and he lands on his back.

"You son of a bitch!" Sarah shouts.

JJ rips the bandana off his face. "I know this piece of shit! He's a basehead!"

"Probably knows my brother," Sarah states.

"He sells coke to my dad," JJ says.

"Listen, I couldn't hurt any single one of y'all..." the guy starts.

JJ picks up the gun and hits him in the head with it.

"JJ!" I yell.

"Dude, chill, man. Come on," Pope tells him.

JJ reaches down and pulls the man's license from his wallet. "We got one last stop."

"Hey!" John B shouts after him.

"Let's go see where this son of a bitch lives," JJ states.

"I'm gonna remember this shit! You can't hide from me! I know exactly who y'all are! Huh? You're gonna see me again! You hear me? I'mma see you again!" the man shouts.


	20. nineteen

JJ drives to the guys house. It's a busted looking trailer in the middle of nowhere.

"Welcome to Crackhead Wasteland," Sarah comments.

"I don't know about this, man," Pope says. "Dude, why are we at Barry's? "

"This'll only take a second," JJ says as he gets out of the van.

"Where you going?" I ask him.

"Yo soy justicia," JJ states.

"Did you glean anything from that?" Pope asks.

"You know somebody should probably..." Kie starts.

"Yeah, I got it," I tell her.

I get out of the van and follow JJ into the trailer. It looks exactly how you would expect a crack house to look. JJ is rummaging around.

"Yeah, so what's your plan, slick?" I ask.

"Well, as thou hath stealeth from us, we shall stealeth from ye," JJ says as he tears apart the couch.

"That kind of got lost in translation," I tell him.

"An eye for an eye, Storm," JJ clarifies.

I step in front of him. "Yeah, that's great, JJ. But what happens after you rob a drug dealer, huh? He knows who we are!"

JJ scoffs. "I'm not scared of this guy." He pushes past me.

"JJ, don't..." I start.

JJ goes into another room and I can hear him throwing things around. "There we go."

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Getting even! All right, took care of business." JJ walks out of the room, bag in hand.

"Hey, look at me. If you keep going down this road," I shake my head, "It's not going to end well, JJ."

"Aren't you tired of being messed with?" JJ asks.

"That's not the point, JJ," I tell him.

"'Cause I am," JJ tells me. JJ walks out of the house and I follow after him. "All right, so we're looking at five grand each for reparations for putting us through that bullshit. Sorry about that, y'all."

"So that's what we're doing now? We're robbing drug dealers?" Kie asks.

"This Barry guy's gonna find out. And he's gonna come after us," Sarah warns.

"Yes, he will. This is not the time to start wilin' out," Pope states.

"How'd you like havin' a gun pulled on you?" JJ asks.

John B steps up to him. "Relax."

"He had it right here on you, bro," JJ says pointing his finger inJohn B's face.

"We've gotta go get the gold, okay? Just give me that shit." John B takes the bag from JJ. "We're putting it back." JJ pushes John B up against the van. "Do you feel like a tough guy? Huh? What are you gonna do when he comes for us?"

"We punch him in the throat," JJ states.

"Yeah, good fuckin' idea, JJ," John B tells him.

JJ grabs the bag. "I'm not putting it back." He hops back into the van. "You guys getting in or what?" No one moves and JJ gets back out. "What?"

"We're sick of your shit," John B tells him.

"Oh, my shit?" JJ asks.

"Yeah. Yeah. Your shit," John B tells him.

"Yes. Your pulling guns on people shit," Kie tells him.

"You acting like a maniac..." Pope starts.

"Okay, Pope, I took the fall for you, man!" JJ shouts. "Know how much I owe because of you?"

"I'm gonna pay you back, and I didn't ask you to do that!" Pope reminds him.

"I just did! Pay it back. Right here, right now, by myself. You know what? That's exactly what I'm gonna do." JJ grabs his stuff. "Go off by myself." He starts to walk away.

"JJ..." I start.

John B grabs me. "Hey, wait, Storm."

"Just let him go," Sarah tells me.

I shake my head. "I'm not just gonna let him go." I walk off after JJ.

"Storm!" John B calls after me.

I ignore him and keep after JJ. "JJ!" I shout. He ignores me. "JJ please!"

JJ stops and turns around to face me. "What, Storm? I don't need you telling me that I'm crazy or to give the money back."

"That's not what I was going to do," I tell him.

"Then what were you going to do?" JJ asks.

"I was coming to find my boyfriend because he is about to spiral..." I start.

"Storm..."

"Let me finish. I am sick and tired of constantly being beaten and having guns pointed at me. Right now all I want to do is be a sixteen year old girl who gets drunk with her boyfriend. I don't want to think about the gold, or our friends, or another gun for one more minute," I tell him.

JJ smiles slightly. "All I have to do is give this money to my dad and then I am all yours."

We head to JJ's house and find his dad on the back porch. Country music is playing on the radio while he works.

JJ struggles to get the back door open. "Son of a bitch." I stand behind him as he talks to his father. "I've been staying at John B's."

"I didn't ask you where you were stayin'. I don't care." Luke stands up. "I knew you'd get hungry."

"That's not why I came back, Dad," JJ tells him.

Luke nods. "Mm-hm." He sits back down.

"I got the money," JJ states.

"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it," Luke remarks.

JJ throws the bag on the table. "It's all there. 25K."

Luke pulls the money out of the bag. "I don't know how you got this. I... I don't even wanna know. You did it." JJ smiles at his dad. "I'll grant you that. You did it. There's beer in the cooler."

JJ heads to the cooler while Luke gets up and walks towards another table. "I think that sale's still on at Guffy's of Makos. They're practically givin' 'em away." Luke looks through a newspaper. "Yep."

"Dad, that's for the restitution," JJ reminds him.

"Nice... We're gonna tap that..." Luke mutters.

"Dad," JJ says.

"...put a little more in."

"Dad. Can you please just do the right thing for once, okay?" JJ says.

Luke steps towards JJ. "You know how much you cost me, you little shit? This nut?" He waves the money in his hand. "It ain't going to the cops. No." He puts the money in a canister. "I'm gonna take it south. I'm gonna triple it..."

"Dad!" JJ shouts.

"You got somethin' to say? After everything you done?" Luke steps towards JJ. "You wanna get into it? I didn't think so." Luke walks past JJ back to his work area. "Man, people keep wastin' my time. I gotta fix this motor."

JJ runs to get the money but Luke cuts him off. He throws JJ into the wall and starts punching him in the gut. He punches him in the face and JJ falls to the floor. "Boy, you stay down there."

JJ gets up and punches Luke in the face. Luke backhands him and knocks JJ to the floor. Luke starts to choke JJ. I try to pull Luke off of JJ and he backhands me. I fall flat on my butt. JJ knees Luke and Luke rolls off of him. JJ tries to get up but Luke trips him. I run over and try to grab Luke but he pushes me away from him. I stumble back and hit my head. He grabs JJ by the hair. "Get up!"

He pushes JJ up against the house. Before hitting him in the stomach.

"Stop it!" I try to pull Luke away but he hits me in the face again.

"Stay out of this you little bitch!" Luke shouts.

JJ punches Luke in the face and they fall through the screen of the porch.

"You wanna steal from me?" JJ kicks Luke in the stomach. "You gave me nothing! You gave me nothing but a shitty life!" He punches Luke in the face. "All you ever did was try and scare me!" JJ picks up a wrench. "Well, guess what, Dad?" I can hear it in his voice, he's near tears. "I ain't scared of you anymore." He throws the wrench down and runs over to me. "We gotta go, Storm." He helps me up and grabs the money on the way out.

With nowhere else to go JJ and I head to John B's. JJ and I waste no time on getting drunk. My head hurts from hitting it on the floor but the alcohol helps take my mind off of it. I lay in John B's bed while JJ uses his phone.

"What are you doing?" I question.

JJ doesnt look up. "You'll see."

I laugh. "Oh so it's a surprise?"

JJ nods. "When I do I get this surprise?"

"Today," JJ tells me.

I laugh. "So what am I supposed to do till it gets here?"

JJ laughs. "I can think of something." JJ finally looks up from his phone and his face drops.

"What?" I ask.

"My dad did that to you?" JJ asks.

I pull out my phone and look at myself. I have a huge bruise on my right cheek from where his dad hit me twice.

JJ is near tears. "I'm so sorry. You should never have gotten mixed up in that."

I pull him down next to me on the bed. "JJ this is not your fault. I got myself involved in that. I wasn't gonna sit back and what your dad beat on you."

"You should have. I can take it," JJ tells me.

"But you shouldn't have to, JJ." I shake my head. I can only imagine how many bruises you have." I start to pull up JJ's shirt. He grimaces slightly. "Does it hurt?"

JJ shakes his head. "No."

"Don't lie. Not to me," I tell him. I see three huge bruises on JJ's torso. I gently brush my finger over them.

JJ touches the bruise on my check. "Does it hurt?"

I shake my head. "No, but I think your dad may have given me a concussion."

"You shouldn't be drinking if you have a concussion," JJ warns.

I laugh as I lean into him. "There's a lot of things we shouldn't be doing, JJ. And for once you and I are going to ignore the world around us and just have fun."

JJ smiles. "I like the sound of that."

I smile as I lean forward and kiss him. JJ fumbles with the hem of my tank top. I pull it over my head. JJ smiles as he flips us over.

So apparently JJ's surprise was a hot tub. He had it delivered a little while ago. I know I should be mad that he spent the money but I'm a little too drunk for that right now.

I'm sitting on the edge of the hot tub when I hear a car door slam and Kie and Pope walk into the backyard.

"What did you do, JJ?" Pope asks.

"I got a jet going straight in my butt right now," JJ says his speech slurred.

I can only imagine I sound the same. "Y'all should get in immediately, you hear me?"

JJ holds up a bottle of champagne. "Salud."

"How much did this cost?" Pope asks.

"Uh... Well, with the generator, the petrol, and oh, hey, express delivery..." JJ chuckles. "...pretty much all of it, yeah."

"All of it?" Pope aks.

JJ nods. "Yeah, all of it."

"You two spent all the money in one day?" Pope asks.

"Yeah, burned a hole right through my pocket," I tell him.

"But, I mean, like, come on, guys, like, look at this! Finest in jet-based massage therapy, that's what they told me," JJ states. Kie gives him a look of disgust. "Kie, what? Can't a man have a little luxury in life? Come on, all this scrimpin' and scrapin'..." JJ's voice waver. "I mean, like... guys, we... You only live once, right? Enough of this emotional shit. Get in the Cat's Ass. Come on."

"In the what?" Kie asks.

"In the Cat's Ass. That's what JJ named her," I explain.

"Oh, hey, yo, I almost forgot." JJ flips a switch and lights come on. "Huh? Yeah, that's right, I know. Disco mode. That's right, baby!"

"Are you kidding me? You could have paid for restitution!" Pope yells.

"Or literally given it to any charity!" Kie offers.

"Or better yet you could have helped us buy supplies to get the rest of the gold out of the well!" Pope states.

"Okay, well, you know what? I didn't do that!" JJ shouts. He stands up and Kie and Pope finally get a look at the bruises in his torso. "I got a hot tub! For my friends. I got a hot tub for my friends. You know what? No, you know what? Screw friends. I got a hot tub for my family!"

"JJ, what the hell?" Kie asks.

"I got this for you. Guys, look what I did for you! All right? Look at this! Look at this!" JJ shouts.

Kie shakes her head as tears fill her eyes. "JJ."

"No, you stop being emotional. It's fine, okay? I mean, it's sweet, right? Everything..." JJ gestures around him. "Just get in!" Kie gets intot he hottub and pulls JJ into a hug. "I just couldn't do it." JJ sobs. "I can't take him anymore! I was gonna kill him. He hurt Storm and I was gonna kill him."

Kie and Pope both look at me and for the first time I can tell they see the bruise on my face. I try to hold back the tears but I can't anymore. I stand behind JJ and wrap my arms around him. Pope walks over and joins in on the hug.

"I just wanna do the right thing," JJ confesses.

"I know. I know," Kie assures him.


	21. twenty

Pope has the rig set up in a tree to test if it will work to get the gold. Kie is in the bucket.

"How's it feeling?" Pope asks.

"Feels good," Kie tells him.

"Alright I'm taking you down," Pope tells her.

Kie nods. "Okay.

"John B pullin' a Houdini," JJ states.

"Yeah, where is he?" I ask.

"I got my scholarship interview tomorrow morning. We gotta get this done," Pope tells us.

"Speak of the devil. Hey!" JJ says as John B walks into the backyard. "Dude, I set up the entire winch to pull up the gold and everything."

"No, he did not. I did that," Pope tells him.

"Hey, John B," Kie says.

John B ignores all of us and walks into the house.

"Hey," I call after him.

"Okay, that's it?" JJ asks.

"Uh... what's that all about?" Pope asks.

"I was gonna ask you the same question," I tell him.

We follow John B into the house. He's moving stuff around definitely looking for something.

"You all right, man? What... what's up?" Pope asks.

John B ignores him and keeps rummaging through the house.

"What are you looking for?" I ask.

"Bro, what's going on?" JJ asks. John B finds the gun hidden in the couch. JJ steps towards him. "John B, what do you need the gun for man?" JJ tries to crab John B and stop him. "Talk to us!"

John B throws JJ down on the pull out couch.

"John B, chill!" Kie shouts. Pope tries to stop John B from going into the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

John B throws Pope out of the way. "What, are you JJ now?"

"Shi... Are you okay?" Kie asks Pope.

I chase after John B. "John B, what the hell are you doing?" Outside John B gets on the dirtbike. "John B, what the hell?"

"Ward knows about the gold. He killed my dad," John B tells us before driving off.

Kie runs after him. "John B!"

"Shit!" JJ shouts.

I throw my arms up in frustration. "What are we gonna do now?"

We take the Pogue and head to Tanneyhill. We stop at the dock.

"What now? We just go up to the front door and ask, 'Hey, have you seen John B?'" JJ questions.

"Look, he lives at Tannyhill now. It's plausible," Kie reasons. "Look, we can play dumb."

"Play dumb?" JJ asks.

"It's pretty late," Pope states.

"Look, I've never seen John B like that. We should honestly be going to the cops," Kie tells us.

"The cops... Yeah, and say what, Kie? We're worried about our friend because he's on a rampage because Ward Cameron killed Big John? Like, they're not gonna believe us!" I tell her.

Pope pulls out binoculars from his bag. "Hey, I see Ward."

"Let me see." Kie takes the binoculars.

"Doesn't look dead to me. Let's go home," Pope states.

"Wait," JJ says.

"What?" Kie asks.

"Uh... Okay. Obviously, Mr. Cameron is fine, and even if John B was here, he isn't now, okay? Plus, I have the biggest, most important moment of my life in six hours," Pope reminds us.

"Yeah, well, our friend is in trouble," Kie states.

"I'm in trouble. Guys, I haven't been home in three days. My dad's probably put all my shit on the street by now," Pope says.

"Kay, so that's it? In a time of need, you're just gonna bail? You're just gonna walk away?" Kie asks.

"Okay, yo, guys, can we not do this right now?" I ask.

"Hey, I have a scholarship interview in the morning. I can't..." Pope starts.

Kie cuts him off, "Okay, well, what about John B?"

"Why is it always about John B?" Pope asks.

I sigh staying out of this argument.

"It's not always about John B. You're so stupid. It would be any of you in this situation," Kie states.

"Oh, bullshit!" Pope tells her.

"Guy!" JJ starts.

"This is about friendship," Kie insists.

"Bring it down,"JJ warns.

"Look, this is about Pogues for life," Kie urges.

"What about forensic pathology, huh?" Pope questions.

"Forensic pathology?" Kie asks.

"It's my life. Everything I've worked for," Pope states.

"That's your priority?" Kie asks.

Kie and Pope stand face to face. "Would you stop the moral high ground bullshit?" Pope asks.

"Pope, come on," I tell him.

Pope turns to me. "No."

"Excuse me?" Kie says.

"No, no. She has no room to talk. Where were you when Big John went missing? You weren't there. You weren't there for John B. You weren't there for any of us. Remember your Kook year?" Pope remarks.

JJ tries to step in, "Dude."

"Yeah, you forgot about us. Now you feel guilty," Pope argues.

Kie pushes him. "Give me a break."

"Hey!" JJ shouts.

Kie pushes Pope again. "Is that what you need?"

Pope pushes her off him. "Come on."

"You need a break? Move!" Kie shouts.

JJ steps between the two. "Hey! Yo, yo, yo, cut it out, all right? If I'm the one mediating, we've hit rock bottom." JJ points to Pope. "Bow, now. Go!" JJ starts the engine. "Pope, I'll drop you off."

In the morning we meet John B on the dock. Everything just got way worse. Ward found the gold and now who knows where it is. We worked our asses off to find the gold and now it's gone.

"You sure he got everything?" Kie asks.

"Every bar. The whole enchilada." John B grunts as he pulls the cast off his arm. "Look, it's not like I expected a happy ending or some shit." He throws the cast across the dock.

"John B..." I start.

"What, Storm? It's a hairline fracture. Who cares?" John B says.

"You should care. Your arm's gonna be messed up for life,' I warn.

"It's fine. See?" John B says as he wiggles his finger.

I hear Pope, "Guys!" And see him running towards us. "Guys! Oh! Oh! Oh, God. I ran all the way here."

"You all right?" John B asks.

"How was the interview, Pope?" JJ asks.

"Don't ask," Pope tells us.

John B gives him a thumbs up. "Awesome."

"JB..." Pope keeps panting. "Look, I'm sorry, dude. About everything."

"It's fine," John B states.

"But... but I don't have a lot of time, and... and I have information that is tactically relevant. So, before I had my interview, my dad said he was going down to the private airstrip to cut palms for Cameron's big plane. Because it was too heavy, it needed a longer landing strip to take off. So, I'm there sitting in my interview, thinking to myself, 'Hm. Why would Cameron need a longer airstrip to take off? What could be so heavy to weigh it down?'"

"Gold," JJ states.

John B sits up. "That's right."

"Exactly. Guys, this is our chance, but it leaves tonight, and we have to go," Pope tells us.

Kie hops off the railing. "Guys, we can't give up now."

"What's the plan, big man?" JJ asks.

"We're gonna steal that shit back," John B states.

I laugh. "Let's do this!"

"Come on, boys!" Kie shouts.

We all take off towards the van. Ready to get our gold back. We take off towards the air strip.

JJ is putting bullets in the gun. "We go in there, guns a-blazin', make Ward Cameron beg for mercy, abscond with as much gold as possible and vámonos, get the hell out of there."

"Send that shit right down the Intracoastal," John B states.

"Wait for the weather, "Kie adds.

"Exit to Cuba," Pope states.

"Cuba?" I shake my head. "No, man, Xcalak, Jewel of the Yucatan."

"Lobsters so thick, mangoes, and no word for money," JJ adds with a smile.

"Let's do this shit," John B states.

We pull up to the airstrip. We stand behind the chain link fence around the airport."

"What's the plan? Broad strokes," Kie says.

"I don't think we got that far," John B states.

Pope pulls out his binoculars. "They're loading up the gold."

John B takes the binoculars. "There's Ward." He puts the binoculars down with a worried look on his face.

"What? What?" Kie asks.

"It's Sarah," John B states.

"She's with him?" I ask.

John B looks through the binoculars again. "Wait a minute. He's hurting her."

"What?" Kie asks.

JJ looks confused. "What?"

"They're fighting," John B states. "Holy shit." John B runs back towards the van.

"Wait, so she... What? I had no..." JJ starts.

Pope turns back to John B. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"John B. Where are you going?" KIe aks.

John B gets in the van and starts it.

"Hey! Hey!" I yell.

"John B!" Kie shouts.

"Hey!" Pope yells.

"Hold on!" JJ shouts.

John B drives right past us.

"Don't be a hero, dude! John B!" JJ yells.

John B drives right through the fence and towards the plane. We run after him.

"What are you doing?" JJ asks.

"John B!" Kie shouts.

"What are you doing, man? Come back!" JJ shouts.

"Hey! Hey!" Pope yells.

John B drives up along the plane. He speeds up past the plane before turning around and stopping right in front of it. I let out a sigh when the plane stops. We hear sirens approaching.

"Guys, I can't get arrested," Pope states.

"I'm on probation," JJ reminds us.

"Look, we're no good if we're all in jail," I point out.

"Come on," Pope says.

We take off running before the cops show up. John B can handle himself especially with the police there.


	22. twenty one

We run to the junkyard by the airstrip to get away from the police. Looking up we can see Ward's plane taking off.

"There goes the gold," Pope states.

JJ kicks a plastic chair.

"Shit!" Pope starts to throw things around. "Fuck!"

Kie calls out to him. "Pope!"

"God damn it!" Pope picks up a baseball bat and starts to smash things with it. "Shit! Fuck!" He smashes an old tv. "Shit! Damn it!" He smashes things lining the shelf on the wall. He yells as he swings the bat around.

Kie looks at JJ and I, but neither of us know what to do. "Pope!" He doesn't stop smashing things. "Pope!" He yells as he throws a garbage can. "Pope!"

Pope stops smashing things as he sits down on a couch.

Kie looks around at what Pope did. "Pope."

"Yeah, dude." JJ starts walking towards Pope. "I was wondering when this was gonna happen." He holds his vape out to Pope. "Here you go, chief. A little weed never hurt no one."

"JJ," Kie starts.

JJ looks over his shoulder. "Relax, Kie."

"You know he doesn't smoke," Kie states.

Pope takes the vape from JJ.

"Well, maybe not until today," JJ counters. He sits down next to Pope and watches him.

"Pope. Yeah, what is that gonna help?" Kie questions.

"I lost my scholarship. Walked out in the middle of the interview. Every..." Pope starts to get choked up. "It's gone. It's not gonna happen."

"You did that for us?" Kie asks.

"No, not for us." Pope gets up and stands face to face with Kiara. "For nothing."

"I'm here for you, Pope." JJ grabs Pope in a half hug. "Welcome to my world, okay?"

"JJ," Kie starts.

"What, Kie? He's right," JJ states. Pope walks away from the two. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Pope leans against a support beam and takes a hit.

"You don't have to do that," Kie states.

"What do you care?" Pope asks.

I hear someone behind us and turn to see John B. I rush towards him. "Dude! Dude, you good?"

"Oh, my God! John B!" Kie shouts.

JJ looks at his blood covered hands. "Is this yours?"

"Whose blood is that?" Kie asks.

"Hey, you okay, man?" Pope asks.

"John B, are you okay?" I question.

We hear sirens and a police car is coming our way. We duck down behind some junk out of sight.

John B explains to us what happened after we ran. Sheriff Peterkin tried to arrest Ward Cameron for the murder of Big John. In the process Rafe showed up out of nowhere and shot her in the chest. He doesn't know where Sarah is, but he can only assume she's back at Tannyhill.

Since John B's van is at the airstrip we take my SUV to the police station. It's dark by the time we get there.

"John B, what are we doing at the police station?" JJ asks.

"Somebody's gotta tell them what happened," John B explains.

Pope takes another hit and starts to cough.

"Easy there, chief," JJ tells him. Pope keeps coughing. "Damn."

"All right. I'm just gonna be real with you right now. You might end up in the lion's den, but you don't go there on purpose. It's fundamental. Just like my old man always told me, you should never ever trust cops, no matter what the circumstance is," JJ states.

"Your old man's an abusive liar," Kie says.

"I agree with JJ. Fuck the police," Pope states.

"You goin' to the dark side now?" Kie questions.

"When's the last time the police helped us?" Pope asks.

"Peterkin looked out for me, all right? Tried to, at least," John B tells us. "They need to know."

No one argues with him as he gets out of the car. We wait outside in the car. When he comes back out he's going to need us. 

Suddenly John B comes running out of the police station. "Storm! Start the car!" He runs around to the other side of the car. "Start the car, Storm!"

"What? John B? What did you do?" I ask.

"The cops!" John B shouts.

"Shit!" JJ yells.

I can see a cop running towards the car as I fumble with the keys.

"Storm, drive! Go!" John B yells.

"I'm going! I'm sorry!" I start the car.

"Go, Storm Go!" John B shouts.

I drive as the cops chase the car. "Stop the car! Right now!"

"What did you do?" Kiara asks.

"Pull over!" the cop yells before she is knocked from the car door.

We spend the rest of the night parked off the road under an old awning.

The radio is on, "Good news for residents of Outer Banks. Dominion Power says their underwater transmission line, which will restore power to 90% of the area..."

I sit up when I hear sirens.

"...should be functional within 24 hours."

I hear another police car go by with sirens on as well.

"And still, no arrest in the shooting death of Sheriff Susan Peterkin. The state police have issued a statement regarding a local person of interest, a juvenile from..."

I switch off the radio not needing to hear them talk about John B like he is a murder.

"Let's game this out. Maybe you guys can help, being the smart ones and all, but..." JJ sighs, "...who are the cops going to believe? Ward Cameron or us? So the accuser is a bigshot developer, kind of lord of the island, got the governor on speed dial kind of person, and the accused... is John B, who is... pretty much a homeless 16-year-old boy at the moment."

"Thanks," John B remarks.

Pope rubs his head. "Shit."

"Okay, man. Yucatan, all right? I'm saying that's the only option. What other option do you have?" JJ asks.

"Enough with the Mexico bullshit. Sarah's gonna bail me out," John B assures.

"She did witness the whole thing," Kie offers.

"Thank you," John B says.

"And she's gonna snitch on her brother?" I ask.

"Not happening, bro. Okay? We've gotta get you off the island," JJ explains.

"The ferry. It's the only way," Pope states.

"Exit stage left while you still can, man. Before the entire island is on lockdown," I say.

More sirens approach.

"Guys, just get down," Kie tells us.

"Sarah's not a Pogue, John B," Pope states.

"Yeah. You can't stay here, man," JJ agrees.

I drive to the ferry. Pope gets out to look at the schedule. I move to the backseat so I can stretch my legs. Kie sits in the passenger's seat.

Pope comes walking back to the car a paper in hand. "Okay. All right, no."

"Pope, can you act normal?" Kie questions.

"So, um... okay, so, bad news. The ferry's closed, and there is this." Pope hands Kie a wanted poster with John B's face on it. Pope gets in the driver's seat.

"What is that? What is this?" John B asks.

"Shit," Kie says.

I take the poster from her and hand it to JJ. I let out a sigh.

"Well, John B, uh... this is a good framer of you." JJ shows him the poster.

"Okay, so the whole island's lookin' for John B right now," Pope states.

"That's a lot of money," Kie says.

"Congratulations, John B. You're now famous," I remark.

"Okay guys, we got to get to the HMS. We need small, no running lights..." Kie starts.

"It's at the Château, Kie," John B tells her.

"And I wonder if the cops got the entire place staked out. Let me think. Oh, yeah. No. They definitely have that place locked down," JJ warns.

"Yeah, copy that," Kie says.

"Let me think. Just give me a second," Pope tells us. "JJ."

"What?" JJ asks.

"Does your dad still have that boat? The cigarette boat, the Phantom. The one he used to race," Pope asks

"Maybe," JJ answers.

"You could get right up the coast, no problem," Pope states.

"Okay, look," Kie starts.

"It won't be easy, Pope," JJ tells him.

"The surf's running from three to four," Kie says.

"I don't know where the keys are," JJ states.

Pope starts my car. "Well, find them."

"I'm thinking," JJ states.

"Why is nobody moving forward?" Pope asks. "Whats going on here."

"Can you relax?" I tell him.

"JJ, how much weed did you give him?" Kie asks.

"Guys. Your car's on here, it's on the poster," John B tells us.

Pope starts honking the horn. "Can we move it?"

"Pope! That's not going to help anything," I tell him.

"Come on!" Pope shouts.

I lean forward. "Don't honk the horn."

A young boy points at John B. "It's that guy. Right there."

"Shit," I say.

"We got a snitch. Pope, turn the car on," JJ instructs.

"We get $25,000 if we find him," the boy says.

"Hey!" A guy knocks on the window. "He's right there!"

"Dude! We gotta go!" I shout.

"Turn the car on!" JJ yells.

"I found him first!" the kid yells.

"Hell you did, you little bastard!" the guy yells.

"Pope, turn the frickin' car on!" Kie yells.

"I am trying!" Pope says.

"Turn the car on! Go, go, go, go, go!" JJ yells.

Pope turns the car on and slams on the gas. We hit the car in front of us. I jolt forward before slamming back into the seat.

"Pope! Jeez!" JJ says.

"Dude, back up!" Kie tells him.

Pope starts to drive the car forward instead of backing up.

"The other way," I tell him.

"It's okay! Pope, just go!" JJ tells him.

Pope turns the wheel and pulls the car onto the grass. A cop sees us and tries to stop us. "Hey!"

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"We'll bump out," JJ warns.

Pope takes the car back on to the road and I have no idea where he is taking us. He starts to swerve all over the road.

"Watch out! Pope! Whoa, whoa, whoa, watch out!" I yell.

Pope hits a mailbox with my car. He laughs. "Oh, my God!"

"Pope!" John B shouts.

"What the fuck?" I ask.

"I'm livin' my best life now," Pope states.

I put my head in my hands. "My poor car. Oh, my God."

"I should be the last to say this, but you are not okay to drive., dude Stop!" JJ tells him. Pope slams on the brakes. "Oh, jeez."

"John B, get out," Pope states.

"He's right. We'll draw the cops, you run," I instruct.

"I'll get the rig, and I'll meet you in the dump tomorrow, okay? Three o'clock, okay?" JJ tells him.

"Yeah." John B gets out of the car.

"Three tomorrow at the dump," JJ repeats.

"Yeah," John B assures.

"Come on, go, go, go!" JJ yells at Pope.

Pope starts to drive again going nowhere in particular. It's starting to get dark.

JJ laughs. "Pope, you clocked that car, man. Like, that was so bad!"

Pope takes another hit of a blunt. "I'm just glad I'm not driving now."

I look at Pope. "Pull over."

Pope pulls the car over and I get out of the car. JJ keeps laughing.

"JJ, it's not funny. He shouldn't be driving," Kie states.

"Mama's mad," JJ states.

I walk around the front of the car as Pope climbs into the passenger's seat. "What are you..." I get into the driver's seat.

"Where are we goin'?" JJ asks.

I look at Kie. "The last place they're gonna look."

We head to Tanneyhill. I get out and Kie does the same.

"Perfectly focused," Pope states.

"You sure this is a good idea?" JJ asks.

"She's the only one who can clear John B," I reason.

"Last place they'll look because of how stupid it is," JJ states.

Pope and Kie ignore him as the climb over the perimeter wall. JJ and I stand beside the car waiting for them to bring Sarah back.

I look at JJ. "What are we doing?"

"Saving John B," JJ states.

"When does this end?" I ask.

JJ puts his hands on my upper arms. "Once John B gets off the island."

I rest my head on JJ's shoulder. "This wasn't the summer I planned for."

I can feel JJ's chest rumble as he laughs. "Not at all."

I look up at him and smile slightly. "But at least I've had you to help me deal."

JJ smiles. "I love you." He leans in and kisses me.

After a moment we pull apart and I rest my forehead on his. I put my hand on his cheek. "I love you too, JJ."

Kie and Pope come back to the car, but Sarah isn't with them. "Where's Sarah?" I ask.

Kie shakes her head. "I couldn't get her the window wouldn't open."

"So what do we do know?" JJ asks.


	23. twenty two

We spend the night at the Wreck. I have a hard time sleeping. I can't get my mind off of John B. He's out there somewhere being hunted by the cops for something he didn't do. He just learned his dad is actually dead and now he is being framed for murder. He hasn't been able to catch a break all summer.

JJ and I stand in the doorway. Watching as the occasional cop car goes by. All morning sirens have been blaring.

I look at JJ. "We follow this through to the end, but we have to be careful."

JJ nods his head. "I'm always careful."

I give him a look. He cracks a small smile. "I promise I will be careful."

"Thank you. Everyone on this island is gunning for him," I state.

"I don't know about that. He's pinched for sure, man," JJ states.

Pope walks over towards JJ and I, having just woken up. "No. They wouldn't still be patrolling if they caught him," Pope insists.

"Let's hope," JJ offers.

"You know, we were in that car. They're probably looking for us, too," Kie states.

"Well, if we're gonna be outlaws, we might as well help John B," Pope states.

"So, find him before they do?" I say. Pope grabs a set of keys from the table. "Pope?"

He starts to walk away. "I'm gonna get gas for the boat."

"Hey, you be careful. Okay?" Kie tells him.

Pope ignores her and turns to JJ and I. "Meet me at the dock at three. Don't be late."

He walks out the door and Kie follows after him. "Okay, what is your problem?"

"No problem, Officer. I'm just doing my job," Pope states as he gets on the motorbike.

"Look, I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings," Kie states.

Pop revs the engine. " What was that?"

"Look, I didn't mean to," Kie says.

Pope keeps revving the engine. "Sorry, I can't hear you. What was that?"

"Pope, I'm being serious..." Kie starts. Pope revs the engine again. "I'm trying to talk to you!"

Pope doesn't say anything else before taking off. I can tell Kie is upset by what happened between them. She starts walking back to JJ and I but stops when she hears a helicopter.

I look up confused as it flies overhead.

"Who the hell is that?" JJ asks.

We head inside to pack supplies for John B and Sarah. Kie explains what happened between her and Pope last night. While they were trying to get Sarah, Pope confessed his love for Kiara and she turned him down.

"You sure he wasn't just being weird Pope?" JJ asks.

"It wasn't really the kind of thing that needed interpretation," Kie states.

"Is that gonna be enough food for them?" I ask.

"I mean, for a couple of weeks, and that's all they need, so..." JJ trails off.

"Look, I think I actually hurt his feelings," Kie confesses.

JJ carries the box out of the restaurant. "Look, don't beat yourself up too much. He's completely changed his feels. The past 24 hours have been like Jekyll and Hyde."

"I hate to admit it, but I miss the old Pope. At least I knew what to expect from him," Kie admits.

JJ puts the food in the trunk. Kie's mom is standing by my car. "Where you been?"

"Uh... I'm fine. I slept here," Kie tells her.

"Well, we were up half the night, scared to death, lookin' for you." Her mom looks at JJ and I. "Were you even gonna tell us?"

"Well, I'm telling you right now," Kie states.

"Alright what the hell are you three up to?" Anna asks.

"I'm sorry, Miss Anna, we just gotta go," JJ tells her.

"I'm sorry," Kie tells her as she walks towards the car.

JJ and I get in the car.

"No. I'm sorry. Absolutely not. Have you heard what's going on out there?" Anna asks.

"Mom, I'll explain later," Kie tells her. She opens the back door.

"Have you seen the storm comin' in? This is not safe," Anna argues.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I have to go!" Kie says as she gets in the car.

"These cops are armed, Kiara. You'll get shot," Anna warns.

"I have to go!" Kie insists.

"I am not letting you do this!" Anna yells.

"Mom, John B needs me!" Kie shouts.

"You need to stay here," Anna states.

"I understand. I'll be careful," Kie tells her as she closes the door. "Sorry!"

"Kiara! Open this door!" Anna yells.

"I'm sorry. Storm go," Kie says.

I listen to Kie and start the car.

"Stop it right now," Anna says. I start to drive away carefully so I don't run her over. "Right now, Kiara! This is not safe! Stop!"

We pull up to JJ's house so he can get the keys to the boat.

"Home sweet home," JJ remarks. I smile at him sadly. "This will only take a second." JJ gets out of the car and I follow after him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not leaving you to do this alone," I state.

JJ looks at me before nodding his head. "Alright, but stay behind me."

JJ walks into the house and I follow behind him. "Dad?" We find his dad asleep on the couch. "Dad, I need the keys to the Phantom." Luke just keeps snoring. "Dad?" JJ picks up the pill bottle sitting on the coffee table. He tries to get the keys from around his dad's neck but Luke wakes up. JJ freezes.

"I didn't expect to see you. You're back." Luke sits up with a sigh.

"Yeah, no, I just..." JJ starts.

Luke drinks from a beer bottle on the table. "Huh?"

"Just checkin' in," JJ states.

"School out already?" Luke asks.

I look at him confused. "What?"

"Did you two ditch? You two wanted some alone time?" Luke chuckles. "It's all right. You can tell me."

JJ nods. "Yeah. We hit the break, you know."

Luke laughs. "I hated school too. My boy! Hey you know what..." Luke stands up and puts his hand on JJ's shoulder. "Listen, hey. Hey, look, I know I'm hard on you sometimes."

I can see JJ fighting back against his emotions. "Mm."

"But sometimes, I see... I see your mother in you, and it gets me a little tweaked, you know?" They both laugh. "You're a good boy."

"Mm-hm," JJ says.

"And I love you, son. Come here. I love you." Luke pulls JJ into a hug. "I love you, son. I love you."

JJ sniffles as he wraps his arms around his dad. "Love you too, Dad. I'm sorry."

"Ain't got nothin' to be sorry for." Luke sighs as he falls back onto the couch. "You're a good boy."

JJ takes a shaky breath before ripping the keys from around Luke's neck. He grabs my hand and we head back to the car. We get in and I start the engine.

"How'd it go?" Kie asks.

JJ holds up the key. I throw the car in reverse ready to get the boat.

JJ fiddles with the chain the key is on. I look at him seriously. "It'll be fine. It'll be fine with the Phantom. She'll get out quick," JJ assures me. Three police cars go speeding by sirens blaring. "Whoa, whoa, whoa." JJ tries to duck down and cover his face. 

"They're still looking. It's a good sign," Kie states.

The whole way to the boat we hear sirens. It's a race against time to get John B out of here.

JJ opens the door to the hanger the Phantom is being stored in. "There she be." JJ walks towards the ships as I give Kie a look. "Hey, girl." JJ pulls off the tarp hanging from the bow. "A 1983 Formula 402 SR1. The Phantom." JJ clicks his tongue.

Kie shrugs her shoulder. "Mm-hm."

"The first boat to make the run to Bermuda in under 16 hours, Storm," JJ reminds me.

I roll my eyes. "So I've heard."

"Forty years old! Forty." JJ runs his hand across the boat. "And still the fastest thing that Kildare's ever seen," JJ says.

"It's kind of a junker," Kie states.

"Really? She's right there, Kie. She can hear you. Let's just put it this way. You would not be smokin' weed right now if she never existed, okay?" JJ tells her.

"I just hope it runs," I admit.

JJ hitches the boat trailer to the back of my car. "Oh, no, she'll run all right. She's faster than any cutters the boys in blue got," JJ tells me.

I hear a motorcycle approach and tires screeching.

"Pope. Finally," Kie says.

We both head to see him, but instead of Pope, Rafe walks in. "Hey, there. What's goin' on? JJ? How you guys doin'?" Rafe jumps on the boat.

I walk back towards JJ concerned.

"Whoo-hoo!" Barry walks out from around my car and clears his throat. "Well, well..." Barry cocks a gun and points it at JJ. " See, don't think I forgot about me and you on the side of the road. I'm here because I want my motherfuckin' money." He hits JJ.

I rush towards him. "JJ! JJ!" I feel Rafe pick me up and pull me away. "Rafe!"

"That's what I'm here for!" Barry throws JJ's head into the ground. 

"It's not you we want, Storm," Rafe tells me. "Where's John B?"

I slap him across the face. "I don't know!"

Rafe starts walking towards me. "I really wish you didn't do that."

I don't back down. "I know what you did."

"What? What did I do?" Rafe asks.

"You murdered Peterkin," I state.

I can hear Barry beating on JJ. "Where is my money?"

Rafe stares at me before grabbing me by the throat. "Huh?" I yelp out in pain. "Don't you ever say those fucking words again."

"Rafe," I choke out.

"Understand? Do you understand? Where's John B?" Rafe asks.

I can hear Barry still tossing JJ around. "Stay down, boy!"

"Where's John B?" Rafe asks.

"I don't know!" I yell.

"Where's John B? Huh?" Rafe asks.

"I don't know! I don't know!" I yell.

Suddenly Rafe is hit from behind by Pope. Rafe lets go of me as Pope hits him again. "Don't touch her!" They start to throw punches.

Barry sees what's happening. "Rafe!"

JJ grabs his foot and he falls to the floor dropping his gun. "Storm! Kick it!" JJ shouts.

I do as he says and kick the gun away from Barry. JJ rams Barry's head into the boat before punching him in the stomach and throwing him to the ground.

Kie turns her attention to Pope who is beating the shit out of Rafe. "Pope. Okay, Pope." He doesn't stop. "Pope!"

"Hey, Pope!" JJ shouts.

"Pope, that's good! Stop!" Kie yells.

"He's had enough, dude," JJ tells him.

"He's good,' I state.

Pope grunts as he wraps a rope around Rafe's neck.

"Snap out of it, man. Snap out of it, dude!" JJ yells.

"Pope!" Kie shouts.

"Stop, dude!" I yell.

Pope ignores us and keeps strangling Rafe.

"Pope, that's too much!" Kie yells.

JJ grabs a hold of Pope. "Dude, come on! Stop! Stop, dude!"

Rafe is struggling against the rope.

"Pope! Get off!" Kie yells.

"Let go! Come on!" JJ tells Pope.

Pope yells out in anger and frustration.

"Look at me!" Kie tells him.

Pope lets go and Rafe falls to the floor.

I look down at Rafe. "Shit. Oh, shit."

"It's okay," Kie states.

Pope looks down at a coughing and bloody Rafe. Pope starts to groan realizing what he's done.

"Okay, we gotta go. We gotta go," I tell them.

Pope leans over Rafe. "Stay off the cut."

I get in the car and start the engine.

Kie calls out to Pope. "Pope. Come on."


	24. twenty three

Pope, JJ, and Kie get in the car and we head to the dock. We get the boat in the water and wait for John B. I can still hear sirens and thunder rumbles overhead.

"Dude, where is he?" Kie asks.

"Give him a second. He'll be here," Pope assures.

"He's coming," JJ insists.

"He'll be fine," I add. Suddenly I hear sirens and see a cop car driving towards us. "JJ!"

"Hey, yeah. Get back on the boat. Untie it," JJ instructs.

"Shit," Kie mutters.

Suddenly John B gets out of the driver's seat of the cop car.

"Wait. No way," JJ remarks.

"No f'ing way," Pope states.

Kie looks confused. "I'm sorry."

I shake my head. "You've gotta be kidding me."

Kie laughs. "Uh..."

John B walks towards us. "Shoupe let me take it for a spin."

"Okay. That's believable. I'll buy that for now." Kie pulls John B into a hug.

"It wasn't easy, bro, but I got the Phantom for you, and she runs like she was made yesterday." JJ throws the key at him.

"You ready to go?" I ask.

"Where's Sarah?" John B asks.

"She's not with you?" Kie questions.

"No, we got separated in the swamp. She said she'd meet me here," John B explains.

"No. No, we haven't seen her man," Pope states.

"Okay, well, I'm not leaving without her," John B insists.

"John B, look at me. I know you feel bad for leaving, but there's no time, man. You've got plenty of gas, plenty of food. Once you get around that point, it's a straight shot across the sound to Dismal Swamp, okay? Once you get there, lay low, all right?: JJ tells him. John B doesn't look at him. "Hang out for a couple of weeks and then go overland, cross the border at Brownsville, you got that? Brownsville. You..." JJ grabs John B and makes him look him in the eyes. "Hey! You got that?"

"Yeah, yeah. Brownsville," John B says.

Thunder cracks overhead.

"All right. Saddle her up, saltwater cowboy. Let's do this," JJ states.

John B gets on the boat. "Yeah." He stops in the middle of the boat. "Hey. Hey. I'm sorry for basically... throwing us off a cliff with this whole treasure hunt thing."

"Hey, John B, yo... we were bound to run off a cliff at some point, right?" JJ offers. Everyone laughs.

"Yeah." John B nods, tears in his eyes.

"At least we did it together, though," I state.

JJ wraps his arms around Kie and I. "Pogue style."

"Pogue style," John B repeats.

"Get out of here! Please," Kie tells him.

Pope points. "Now. We'll see you in two months..."

"Down in Mexico," I finish.

"Love you," JJ states.

John B starts to get a move on. "Hey, wait... wait a second." He fights back tears. "Tell Sarah I said goodbye, okay?" John B salutes and we all return it.

"Don't forget. Cross the border at Brownsville, okay?" JJ reminds him.

"Got it," John B assures.

With that John B starts off on his next adventure, without us. JJ wraps his arm around my waist. I can hear sirens in the distance.

"You okay?" Kie asks Pope.

Pope fumbles over his words, "I'm sorry for... acting like a dumbass. I was just upset, and I was acting petty..."

"Yeah," Kie agrees.

"...and I just..." Pope continues.

"It's okay," Kie tells him.

"...just wanna be friends again," Pope finishes.

As the sirens get closer I turn around to see Kie and Pope kissing. "Hey, guys, I'm sorry to ruin the party, but, uh, we gotta go right now."

"Come on!" JJ shouts.

Before we can go anywhere we're surrounded by cop cars. Kie, JJ, and I put our hands up. Pope doesn't stop.

"Pope," Kie calls after him.

A cop comes at us. "Move. Hands up! Hands up!"

"Pope, hands," Kie tells him.

"We're too late. He's gone. God damn it!" Shoupe shouts. "Bratcher, have your guys stand down. Let me talk to these kids. All right, where the hell is he? Where the hell is he? JJ? I see you're livin' up to your name. You too, Storm. Pope, how about you? This isn't a fucking game! You can do the right thing now! Where'd he go?"

The cop, Bratcher, speaks into a radio, "Suspect has just left Station 26 in a small boat. Need marine patrol to respond."

Shoupe takes us to the command center, where they are trying to find John B. It's raining when we get there. The storm is moving in.

"Follow Plumb to that tent. Wait for your friends," Shoupe tells Pope. We all get out of the cars one by one.

"This way," Plumb tells us.

There is media and reporters everywhere. Cops and other law enforcement are running all over the place.

"Come on," Plumb tells us.

"Right to your left here," Shoupe instructs.

We walk into a tent and see a row of chairs. Plumb points to them. "Right here."

"Sit down. Don't move. We got a lot to talk about." Shoupe tells us. He looks to another officer. "Keep an eye on these kids."

We can see into the tent next to ours. "Blockade is up at the marsh and Masonboro and all other inlets from Shem Creek to Breach Inlet. I want eyes on all coastal access points, people. Let's get this guy," a cop says.

I look at JJ scared that John B isn't going to get out of here. JJ realizes and wraps his pinky around mine.

People move around trying to coordinate things. Sitting and waiting is driving me crazy. I just want to hear that they got away. They lost them in the marsh.

Suddenly I can hear people shouting outside the tent. "That's them. There they are. It's the Phantom." I can hear sirens wailing.

I hear someone over a radio. "Suspect is attempting to escape to the south. Our attempts to contact the vessel were unsuccessful. We're gettin' hammered here."

"Hold your position, Captain," Bratcher instructs.

"Roger that."

"I got one more card I think we can play," Brather states.

They bring in Ward Cameron. "John B? John B, I know you are there, son. I know you can hear me, and if you love my daughter like I think you love my daughter, then you will turn that boat around and come back. You are going into a storm that you cannot survive. John B, please, I will make it right. I promise you. Come back. John B, I am begging you. Think of her and turn around.

John B answers, "Ward Cameron, do you hear me?"

"Yes, son, I'm right here. I'm right here. Please bring her back, okay? We'll work it all out when you get home," Ward tells him.

"You killed my father, and you framed me for a murder I didn't commit. You took everything from me! You took everything from me! But I'm still here. And I swear to God, Ward, I will come back one day and take what's mine. So, you listen to me, all right? I'm comin' for you. I'm coming for you," John B warns.

"We've lost their radio signal, sir," someone says.

"Those are kids out there. Don't stop lookin'." Shoupe turns to Ward. "You don't go anywhere. We're gonna need to talk to you."

Sirens keep blaring as the storm rages on. There is no word about John B and Sarah.

"Wanna have Search and Rescue standing by," a man shouts.

"Any response?" a woman asks.

"They're not calling it off yet," a man tells them.

Shoupe walks in followed by two other cops. We stand up and walk towards them.

"Did you find them?" Pope asks.

Shoupe shakes his head slightly. "No."

"So, they got away?" Kie asks.

"We, uh... we lost them. I'm sorry," Shoupe tells us.

"You lost them? What do you mean you lost them? Like, they're gone? What are you talkin' about?" Pope asks.

"They took an open boat into a tropical depression, Pope," Shoupe states.

"So, they're dead?" Kie asks.

"We don't know," Shoupe admits.

"You drove them straight through the storm, man! Are you kidding me? Come here!" JJ lunges for Shoupe. "I'm gonna kill you!"

"JJ, stop!" I shout.

"I'm gonna kill you, you bastard!" JJ yells.

A big cop pulls him away from Shoupe.

Pope tries to step in, "Hey!"

"You killed him!" JJ shouts.

Pope gets in Shoupe's face. "He didn't kill anyone, and you know it!"

"We're still looking for him, all right?" Shoupe tells us.

"Pope. Pope, just stop. Please, stop." Kie sobs.

Kie and Pope's parents show up. They pull their kids into hugs. I walk over to JJ and let out a sob. He wraps his arms around me in a bone crushing hug.

Since no one could get in contact with my mom or JJ's dad Shoupe lets us go. A cop drives us back to my house.

We don't even make it to my room before I break down again. I sit down on the couch and JJ sits next to me. "Maybe they survived. They could be on the way to Mexico," I offer.

JJ wraps his arm around me. "Storm..."

I shake my head. "No. No. Just let me have this, just for tonight."

JJ nods his head. "Come here." JJ pulls me onto his lap and I sob into his chest. "You're okay." He puts his head on mine. "We're okay."

"Everything is going to be okay," I sob. "It has to be."


End file.
